It’s impossible to dispute Reed Krakoff’s impact on American design. His career trajectory speaks for itself – early stints at Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger were followed by roles at Coach and Tiffany & Co., two American legacy brands that he successfully – and impressively – rejuvenated.
Krakoff’s work exemplifies and defines much of American style. Now, he’s bringing his magic touch to the beloved Balinese-founded jewelry brand that built its global business in the U.S.
The three-time CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year winner clearly understands the essence of America’s design heritage and the power and influence it has around the globe.
“Growing up with American brands such as Coach, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Tiffany, where my mom would shop, I understood them in a way that felt intuitive and natural,” the designer said, reflecting on his career to date.
“The underlying touchstone in my career is Charles Eames, whose adherence to Louis Sullivan’s infamous ‘form follows function’ philosophy guides my work. American design is an outgrowth of technique, craft, construction and materials and less about decoration,” he continued.
Krakoff cited Bonnie Cashin’s convertible car top turn-lock device as hardware on a loose, slouchy unlined baseball leather bag, the Tiffany diamond setting that allows maximal sparkle and brilliance, and the utilitarian L.L. Bean tote as examples of American brilliance. As he put it, “It was function, not aesthetics driving design” – an ethos that continues to firm his creative trajectory.
A former CFDA Vice President and Chair of the Admissions Committee, Krakoff’s mission at Hardy, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is to transform the beloved brand rooted in traditional handwoven jewelry craft and design with Balinese roots but refine and elevate the design.
“You must make a customer fall in love the product you are creating. The proxy for opportunity today is how do you take something that is beautifully made but all about technique and looking at them through design sensibility, adding luxury, style and attitude,” Krakoff explained.
Think Athena Calderone of EyeSwoon’s new collaboration.
“Elevating craft plus style and design equals the next chapter of John Hardy,” he said. “In the beginning it was about Bali but today it’s about a laid-back beach and casual resort aesthetic but refined and elevated to be worn daily. John Hardy is beloved but needed to evolve, its customers wanted more from it.”
Asked for the secret formula to a successful brand reinvention, he said: “I don’t think there is a blueprint. Each brand is its own puzzle with its challenges. There are no shortcuts to getting to right answer, it’s minimum two years of trial and error to find the right answer,” he said of reimagining brands.
“My job is to make people uncomfortable because if you aren’t pushing the organization past a comfort level, nothing will change. Sometimes it takes a minute before someone says, ‘I don’t know why but I love that’. You need a business partner that supports you and understands if it was easy, it wouldn’t be a mission,” he continued.
Artistic philosophy is intrinsic to everything Krakoff touches.
“Design has been part of my life forever working in several creative areas: interior design, the art world, photography and via long term relationships with other types of creatives. The different mediums keep my interests current and helps see aesthetics in a new way,” he noted.
Having restored vintage cars as a personal project, Krakoff hinted at a desire to work with automotive design from “a total perspective of marketing, design, and performance.”
“Apple is another brand I’ve long admired; it’s the entire package; so is Nike, it’s where technology, performance and design come together. I would love to do a collaboration with them,” he added.
Working closely with emerging American design talent is also a plus for Krakoff.
“Discovering incredible talent was inspiring and amazing and I don’t think would have happened without my 12-year experience with CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.
His advice for award-winning success?
“To have success with scale, you must be unique in the market. Some brands survive on having popular current designs but to be successful where you are leading and not following, this is the way to do it,” he said, adding, “I don’t know any success story for a product that did well that wasn’t called a bad idea. You have to have faith in yourself and not be afraid to fail.”
