Tony Duquette for Coach Collection

As an all-time lover (and previous associate) of Coach, I am more than thrilled by the new jewelry collaboration between Coach and Tony Duquette.  Tony's longtime business partner, Hutton Wilkinson, along with the estate of Tony Duquette, have joined forces with Reed Krakoff and the design team at Coach to produce a limited edition Tony Duquette for Coach jewelry collection.

For those not familiar with Tony Duquette, he was a design icon, renowned as a home designer, jeweler, costume designer, sculptor, and painter.  His achievements include award winning costume and set designs for theater, opera, and ballet (including a Tony for Best Costume Design for the original production of Camelot).  He produced custom residential interiors for aristocrats throughout the United States and Europe.  His art has been displayed in museum exhibitions worldwide, including the Louvre (1951).  In his 80's, he created fine jewelry for Tom Ford's Gucci shows.  The list goes on and on... Custom interiors, decorative home products, and jewelry inspired by the designs of Tony continue to be created today under the direction of his business partner.  Just wanted to share a little background on this amazing designer's life work which is very inspiring!

     "Beauty, not luxury is what I value." ~ Tony Duquette

Spike necklace

 So, how did the collaboration originate?  Reed Krakoff, president and executive creative director at Coach, started his Duquette collection with the purchase of a set of the famous abalone side tables from Duquette's 2001 estate sale.  Nearly 10 years later he approached Hutton Wilkinson with the idea of a limited edition jewelry collaboration in honor of the 70th anniversary of both Coach and Tony Duquette (Studio).  This collaboration marks the first time that Coach is making a serious statement with jewelry and the first time Duquette's work has been mass produced and available to a wide audience at an accessible price.  

Beverly Hills Launch Party

"Duquette defines what it means to be over-the-top," Krakoff has said. "He lived and created with a sense of wit, irreverence, and abandon I admire."

Coach designers were given full access to Duquette's archives and his Dawnridge, Beverly Hills estate.  The resulting 20+ piece collection includes a jeweled bib collar inspired by the Duchess of Windsor, jeweled clutches, enamel bracelets, sunburst items, and fish design pieces inspired by his koi pond at Dawnridge.  The line, which became available on February 1st, ranges in price between $48 and $698.  Serious eye candy!

Fish, flower, and heart jeweled clutches

 Duquette is known for the motto, "More is More".

Sunburst charm bracelets, spike bracelet, and malachite/lapis sunburst cuff

"Each handfinished piece incorporates Duquette's most iconic design elements with combinations of Swarovski elements, cut glass enamel, genuine lapis and malachite."~ Coach website

Visit the Coach website to see the pieces available in the Tony Duquette for Coach collection .  Watch this YouTube video to learn more about Tony Duquette's inspiration and for some beautiful images of the collection -->     Tony Duquette for Coach                

"I will use anything that will help me capture the quality I'm seeking...what I find in the streets, in the attic, on the desert, in the sea." ~ Tony Duquette

Sunburst pendant necklace and sunburst enamel bracelets

Jeweled fish pendant necklace and jeweled bib necklace

Malachite ring w/ the vintage malachite chair used as inspiration

And finally, a few photos of Tony Duquette's amazing interior design work!  Many of the pieces created for the jewelry collaboration were inspired from these designs.  The Dawnridge Estate in Beverly Hills was the personal residence of Tony Duquette which he had built and decorated in 1949.  Since his death in 1999, his longtime business partner, Hutton Wilkinson, resides here.  If you are interested in reading more about his life and work (costumes, interior, jewelry...), you can find it here (Barnes&Noble) .  

Dawnridge Estate - "Sunburst" chandelier and wall sconce, malachite furniture.  Intriguing ceiling!

Dawnridge Estate - "Sunburst" three-panel iron screen, wall  sconce, and a different style "sunburst" chandelier.  You can also see a portion of Duquette's famous animal wall art.

Dawnridge Estate  - a vision of malachite and lapis 

A 1960s Bel Air residence dining room w/ Duquette's famous biomorphic console and mirror.  A reproduction of this console is available through Baker Furniture.

Another photo of the above Bel Air residence - entry w/ floating bronze staircase, crystal stalactite chandelier, and antique Chinese doors

 

Hutton Wilkinson in the Palazzo Brandolini in Venice, Italy - actual coral branches used as accents!

Enjoy!
Cathy