The timeless craftsmanship of Tiffany & Co. shines in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’
Few luxury jewellery houses have enjoyed as enduring and glittering a romance with cinema as Tiffany & Co.
Granted, the beloved 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s cemented the maison’s image in popular culture, with an iconic opening scene featuring Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly gazing into the windows of Tiffany & Co.’s Fifth Avenue flagship while eating a croissant.
While Tiffany’s permitted filming inside its store for the first time, costume designer Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy–who created Hepburn’s wardrobe–selected pieces from a costume jewellery collection rather than Tiffany’s ateliers.
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Tiffany & Co. designed bespoke jewellery, such as the Ziegfeld Collection, for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (Photo: Warner Bros)
It wasn’t until 2013, when the maison graced the silver screen with its luminous presence, collaborating with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann for his lavish 2013 adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, set amid the opulence of the Roaring Twenties.
The collaboration ranged from designing bespoke jewellery, such as the Ziegfeld Collection, inspired by its archival Art Deco heritage, to working closely with the film’s costume and production design teams to capture the opulence of the Jazz Age.
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More than a decade later, Tiffany & Co. makes a dramatic return to the screen through a visionary collaboration with Frankenstein, directed by the Mexican filmmaker renowned for his depth and darkness, Guillermo del Toro–already garnering critical acclaim following its festival premiere ahead of its global Netflix release on November 7.
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True to its heritage of artistry and storytelling, the maison’s collaboration once again extends beyond adornment into the realm of narrative craft–where costume designer Kate Hawley and del Toro joined forces with Tiffany & Co.’s creative team, led by Christopher Young, vice president and creative director for Tiffany Patrimony and global creative visual merchandising, to ensure that each jewel deepened the emotional pulse of del Toro’s gothic vision.
The exquisite Tiffany & Co. Wade necklace from 1900 of gold, platinum, and diamonds
Straight from its archival vaults, the maison supplied 27 pieces of archival and contemporary jewellery for Elizabeth Harlander’s adornment in the film–many drawn from its historic archives to take on hauntingly beautiful roles.
In the film, Mia Goth–who portrays Elizabeth, beloved of Oscar Isaac’s titular Victor Frankenstein, and the story’s emotional anchor–wears the Wade necklace from 1900, an exquisite archival piece of gold, platinum, and diamonds.
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Other pieces include the Scarab necklace, designed under Meta Overbeck and Louis Comfort Tiffany in the 20th century. Featuring glass, gold, and filigreed artistry, it highlights the brand’s creative evolution from Art Nouveau delicacy to modern opulence.
The 20th-century Tiffany & Co. Scarab necklace, featuring glass, gold, and filigreed artistry
Rooted in Mary Shelley’s cautionary tale of creation and consequence, del Toro’s adaptation reimagines the story through the lens of fatherhood and identity, amplifying its human core. In bringing the story to life, the director deliberately eschewed CGI, digital sets, and generative AI in favour of real materials, hand-built sets, and practical effects.
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“I want real sets. I don’t want digital. I don’t want AI. I don’t want simulation,” proclaimed del Toro–the auteur whose worlds of shadow and soul have redefined modern Gothic cinema through films such as Crimson Peak (2015) and the Oscar-winning Pinocchio (2022).
“I want old-fashioned craftsmanship. I want people painting, building, hammering, plastering,” he added. “There is an operatic beauty when you build everything by hand.”
Tiffany & Co. bridges its intricate artistry with del Toro’s storytelling of Shelley’s gothic classic
Even Christoph Waltz–who portrays Henrich Harlander, Elizabeth’s maternal uncle–shared the director’s sentiments, quipping at the Venice premiere: “CGI is for losers,” underscoring the production’s preference for practical over digital craftsmanship.
It is, perhaps, no surprise that when it came to costume design, a certain level of craftsmanship was called for–and Tiffany & Co. rose to the occasion, bridging its intricate artistry with del Toro’s storytelling of Shelley’s gothic classic.
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