EXCLUSIVE: Beyoncé Glams It Up in Second Tiffany Campaign
Tiffany & Co., enjoying a renaissance under LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton ownership, has tapped Beyoncé for a second advertising campaign with fierce fashion imagery that resembles the album art from her latest release, “Renaissance.”
The music superstar, who appeared alongside her famous husband Jay-Z in a major Tiffany campaign last year, returns solo wearing custom clothes by LaQuan Smith, Graham Cruz, Michael Challita and others — plus “pinnacle expressions” of Tiffany’s iconic fine jewelry lines Tiffany T, Tiffany HardWear, Tiffany Knot and Tiffany Lock. She also dons select Tiffany pieces by Jean Schlumberger and Elsa Peretti.
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Photographed at Hangar Studios in Los Angeles by Mason Poole, the global campaign breaks on Tiffany’s social channels later Friday and soon in October magazines.
Tiffany also commissioned a film by music video director Mark Romanek, set to Beyoncé’s latest hit “Summer Renaissance,” that is slated to debut on its website in October.
Titled “Lose Yourself in Love,” the Beyoncé campaign for Tiffany expresses themes similar to the singer’s “Renaissance” release: self-love, “the joy of being one’s unapologetic self,” and empowerment.
The forthcoming film, meanwhile, is said to embody “the carefree, joyous spirit of the album as a whole,” using Studio 54-era New York as the inspiration.
“We’re taking an opportunity to have an icon wear our icons,” said Alexandre Arnault, executive vice president of product and communications at Tiffany, disclosing images and details of the campaign exclusively to WWD. “She’s the best. She really embodies the ultimate modern-day woman, in our view, which makes her the perfect representative of our values.
“Also, what’s great about working with her is that it’s always in close collaboration and with a shared vision between how she feels about us and how we feel about her,” he added.
Since completing its $15.8 billion purchase of the U.S. jeweler last year, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has flagged its strong performance — with high jewelry the fastest-growing category. Revenues in the group’s watches and jewelry division, which also includes Bulgari, Tag Heuer and Hublot, jumped 13 percent in the second quarter.
Beyoncé’s first campaign had her wearing the famous Tiffany Diamond — with its 128.54 carats and 82 facets — reclaiming the company’s roots as a high jeweler, and signaling a brand elevation drive.
Arnault called it the most successful campaign in company history, helping to fuel its “record year” in 2021.
Sales of engagement rings jumped 30 percent in the U.S. in the wake of the campaign, dubbed “About Love” and celebrating the Carters’ nearly two decades together.
The campaign also racked up about a billion video views. Accompanying the print images was a short film that depicted Beyoncé singing “Moon River” to her husband.
Another “behind-the-scenes” video, depicting the couple scarfing pizza slices in a taxi on the way to a fancy event, drove the highest traffic day on record for Tiffany’s U.S. website.
“We reached a global audience, we reinforced our perception as a pop culture icon, and we drove brand relevance for our clients and for future clients,” Arnault told WWD over a Teams call Friday morning. “It definitely drove brand relevance.”
And it achieved its stated goal of exalting Tiffany’s high jewelry. Arnault confirmed a “huge increase” at a Miami sales event last April for its Botanica collection, hinged on three floral themes that are important to Tiffany’s archives: dandelion, orchid and thistle.
The new campaign puts a focus on more “shoppable” products, but also features very exclusive ones, including a custom HardWear necklace created for the campaign. Its 18-karat gold links, three times the usual scale, took 40 hours to assemble and polish by hand. Tiffany plans to sell a limited quantity of these large-scale necklaces.
“It’s about showcasing another side of us,” Arnault said. “Now she’s wearing everyday product: products you can find in the store.”
Items featured in the campaign retail from about $5,000 to just under $500,000, he noted.
It also continues Tiffany’s creative narrative about expressions of love, the accent now on self-love and personal expression.
“It’s a lot more about self-purchasing, because people can identify themselves a lot more and say, ‘Hey, I saw this necklace worn by Beyoncé. I’d love to wear it,'” Arnault said. “The Tiffany Diamond is a little more difficult to do that with.”
(Indeed, only three other women — Mary Whitehouse, Audrey Hepburn and Lady Gaga — have ever worn the famous gemstone, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1877.)
The executive acknowledged that the campaign deliberately skews close to the singer’s “Renaissance” project, noting she commissioned an array of sleek custom outfits from established and emerging designers.
He marveled at her precision, and stamina in front of the camera.
“She was instrumental in bringing the whole vision to life,” Arnault said. “I’m always amazed by how professional she is: The first one on set and the last one out; she definitely doesn’t count her time and only finishes the day when everything is done. And all of that with a smile on her face and an amazing sense of connection to people.”
As part of its initial partnership with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Tiffany committed $2 million for scholarship and internship programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as reported.
On Friday, Tiffany noted that scholarships have already been awarded to 60 students, and that beneficiaries for the 2022-23 academic year would be announced in the coming weeks.
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