\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tReed Krakoff <\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAllie Joseph<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tDespite the vastly different price points, he sees little distinction in the creative challenge. \u201cIt\u2019s really the same,\u201d he told James Fallon, chief content officer of WWD and Fairchild Media Group. \u201cThey\u2019re all equally difficult and equally doable.\u201d At Tiffany, valuable inventory and a vast retail network complicated change; a smaller company like John Hardy can move faster.<\/p>\n \n\tThat cross-pollination has become something of a competitive advantage. Krakoff noted that approaches to merchandising, marketing and launching collections that were commonplace in fashion felt decidedly new when applied to fine jewelry. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a cheat in a way to kind of bring things from one category to another, and they feel new and fresh,\u201d he said. For Krakoff, moving between disciplines has become as much a source of creative renewal as a business strategy.<\/p>\n \n\tPatience matters, too. Krakoff worries that today\u2019s creatives are expected to deliver immediate results without the freedom to experiment. \u201cI think a lot of designers, more and more, don\u2019t get any time,\u201d he said. \u201cIf something\u2019s going to be truly thoughtful and surprising, and at the end of the day desirable, it takes some time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAt Gap, where he is executive director of accessories for Gap Inc., he has translated the retailer\u2019s sportswear codes into handbags. The Five-Pocket Tote, referencing its denim heritage, struck him as an immediate winner<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen we hit on it, I knew it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about the price, but the price is great. It\u2019s not about the brand, but it reflects the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHis product-testing method is simple: put a design on a table and watch for a reaction. \u201cIf no one says anything, it\u2019s probably not very good,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s an emotional thing. It\u2019s about desire. You can\u2019t logic this to death.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tReed Krakoff and James Fallon <\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAllie Joseph<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tThat instinct has given his work a life beyond his tenure at individual houses. At Coach, where he spent 16 years, designs from the late 1990s and 2000s have found new currency among younger shoppers. His 18-year-old daughter, who attends Savannah College of Art and Design, recently called to report how many students were carrying vintage Coach bags.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think Coach has done an amazing job of reinventing themselves for this next chapter,\u201d he said, crediting the company\u2019s current direction with helping fuel nostalgia for its earlier collections.<\/p>\n \n\tHis designs for Tiffany, such as the Lock collection, also continue to resonate among consumers. Asked whether it bothers him that designs he did for those brands continue to sell and he isn\u2019t recognized as their creator, Krakoff said not really. \u201cYou have to recognize that it isn\u2019t your house any longer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\tBut Krakoff doesn\u2019t design according to generational labels. His mother wore the latest fashion into her 80s, while his 22-year-old daughter has traditional tastes. \u201cI\u2019m not a believer in segmenting consumers that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\tHe is equally resistant to separating creative ambition from commercial performance. Recalling being fired by Tommy Hilfiger, with whom he remains friends, Krakoff said the experience taught him that \u201cit\u2019s not about you.\u201d The objective is to create work he believes in that also drives sales, a sensibility he considers distinctly American.<\/p>\n \n\tAt John Hardy, where he is creative chairman, the task has been to bring a sharper design perspective to a house already grounded in Balinese craftsmanship. \u201cThe brand was bigger than the sales when I started,\u201d he said. Its evolution has included a recent jewelry collaboration with Billie Eilish and Finneas.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tReed Krakoff <\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAllie Joseph<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tKrakoff sees substantial room to grow. \u201cIt\u2019s something that has the potential to be five times the size, even 10 times the size,\u201d he said. He pointed to an opening between independent jewelers and the industry\u2019s largest houses, particularly for jewelry that is recognizable without being overtly branded.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a huge shift towards things that have inherent value in artisanship, craftsmanship, quality,\u201d he said. The opportunity could extend beyond jewelry into hospitality: \u201cYou can see Hardy doing hotels,\u201d he suggested, envisioning a resort or property in St. Barts, describing the possibility rather than announcing a project.<\/p>\n \n\tHis creative outlook reaches well beyond product. A photographer, ceramicist and art collector, Krakoff recently shot a John Hardy campaign without taking public credit. \u201cI don\u2019t really follow fashion, to be honest,\u201d he said, describing how film, theater and exhibitions help keep his perspective fresh.<\/p>\n \n\tHis background in economics, art history and design proved unexpectedly suited to the emergence of the modern creative director. \u201cI was preparing for a career that I didn\u2019t know existed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Reed Krakoff has spent much of his career doing jobs that weren\u2019t present before he arrived. \u201cI\u2019ve never had a job that existed before I had it,\u201d the designer said at the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Reed](\"https:\/\/wwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ARCEOSummit_20261028_AllieJoseph_9915.jpg?w=300\")
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