Elsa Peretti - WikiHQ

Elsa Peretti, OMRI OMM (1 May 1940 – 18 March 2021), was an Italian jewelry designer and philanthropist as well as a fashion model. Her jewelry and design pieces for Tiffany & Co. are included in the 20th century collection of the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 1974 Peretti, the "Halstonette" fashion model arrived at Tiffany's with her modern jewelry. Her broadly popular work, including pieces like Bean, Bone Cuff and Open Heart, became as much as 10% of Tiffany's business and John Loring's Tiffany Style – 170 Years of Design devotes 18 pages of images to her jewelry and tableware design. As a philanthropist, Peretti supported a wide variety of causes, and also privately undertook the restoration of the historic village of Sant Martí Vell in Catalonia, Spain.

The TV miniseries Halston features Elsa's relationship with Halston. In 2019, she was featured in archival footage about her relationship with the legendary designer in the documentary film Halston.

Early life

Peretti was born in Florence, Italy as the youngest daughter of (1896–1977) and Maria Luisa Pighini. Ferdinando Peretti founded Anonima Petroli Italiana (API), a large Italian oil company, in 1933. She was estranged from her conservative family for much of her life, though reconciled with her father shortly before he died. She initially made her living teaching French and working as a ski instructor in the German-speaking Swiss mountain village of Gstaad.

Career

Modeling

In 1964, Peretti became a fashion model, working in Barcelona, Spain.

During the late 1970s Peretti was a frequent regular of Studio 54, alongside designer Halston, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli,

In 2019, she was interviewed in the documentary Halston (CNN films), recalling her years of working, partying, and friendship with the designer.

Jewelry design

In 1969, Peretti began creating new jewelry styles for a handful of fashion designers in Manhattan. Her first design, working with a silversmith in Spain, was a two-inch bud vase made of sterling-silver as a pendant on a leather thong necklace, that was inspired by a find at a flea market. Worn in a runway show by one of Giorgio di Sant' Angelo's models, it was a hit.

thumb|Elsa Peretti, bowl with lid and tray, sterling silver, for [[Tiffany & Co., 1984]]

Peretti quickly rose in the jewelry field, receiving the 1971 Coty Award for jewelry design, and had her first appearance in Vogue magazine. In 1972 Bloomingdale's, one of New York's landmark department stores, opened a dedicated Peretti boutique. In 1974, she signed a contract with Tiffany & Co to design silver jewelry; her work for them was the first time Tiffany had sold jewelry in that material in 25 years.

Peretti designed over thirty collections for Tiffany, with works described as "revolutionary", "timeless, distinct and modern". paid up front for $47 million. in other years the figure has been more than 10%.

Catalonia, Spain

In 1968, Peretti bought a house in the largely decrepit village of Sant Martí Vell in Catalonia, Spain. Over the next ten years she had the house restored, often living in rough conditions during the process. By the 1980s, the mustard-yellow house was her preferred home. Pieces such as her scorpion necklace, now in the British Museum, were inspired by the flora and fauna of Sant Martí Vell.

Originally Peretti described a hope for building an artist colony, but the town became "her own private village", wrote The New York Times. purchasing additional buildings and having them renovated. Peretti also supported the management of the sixteenth-century historical documents of the town, the conservation of the photographic archive of Oriol Maspons and the conservation of the Roman city of Empúries.

Peretti established a working vineyard in Sant Martí, planting Ca l'Elsa in 2004 and Can Nobas in 2007. The winery itself was completed in 2008, marketed under the Eccocivi label.

Peretti also promoted the visual arts and the historical, artistic, and architectural heritage of Catalonia. She encouraged people such as guitarist Michael Laucke and painter-sculptor Robert Llimós to make use of San Marti Vell. In 2013, Peretti was the first non-Catalan person awarded the National Culture Award by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CoNCA). As of 2015, it was renamed the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation (NaEPF).

Initially the foundation had a dual focus on the environment and wildlife conservation, and on humanitarian programs, particular those targeting poverty. Over time, the foundation's scope has expanded to support a broad range of projects for "promotion of human and civil rights, with a special emphasis on the right to education, children's rights, and women's rights and dignity."

Personal life

In the 1970s, Peretti was romantically involved with photographer Helmut Newton. No cause of death was given; she died in her sleep. her family office incorporated in November 2018, is domiciled in Zürich, Switzerland.

Awards

Recognition

American Fashion Critics Coty award, 1971: Peretti wins a special award, for her jewelry.
President's Fellow award, Rhode Island School of Design, 1981
2013: The National Prize of Culture by the Catalan Government, which is awarded annually to individuals or organizations that have distinguished themselves for their outstanding contribution in their respective cultural areas.
2015: Guardó JORGC (Col·legi Oficial de Joiers, d'Orfebres, de Rellotgers i de Gemmòlegs de Catalunya) en reconeixement a la trajectòria global

Honors

Grande Ufficiale, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic)
Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi (Order of Malta)
Honorary member of the Circolo di San Pietro

Permanent collections

British Museum: In 2009 the British Museum acquired 30 of Peretti's creations for its 20th century collection. The museum describes Peretti's capacity to produce objects, which come from different parts of the world as unique, noting that they combine "superb craftsmanship and symbolic meaning in a modern age".
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts
Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas

Exhibitions

Fifteen of My Fifty with Tiffany, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, 1990
Retrospective, Tiffany's stores worldwide, 2001