! !
Paloma Picasso
! !
Tatiana Gorogianis! Introduction to Fashion Business! October 23, 2013!
! DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"1
Paloma Picasso !
Paloma Picasso was born April 19, 1949 in Vallauris, France, to artists Pablo Picasso and
his lover, Francoise Gillot. Paloma means “dove” in Spanish, and she was named after the famous symbol that her father designed for the International Peace Conference in Paris the year she was born. Her father and his lover never legalized their romance because Picasso remained married to his first wife, Olga Khokhlova. Paloma’s family includes an older brother, Claude, by her father and mother, an older brother, Paulo, by her father and Khokhlova, a younger sister,
Maya, by her father and Marie-Therese Walter, and finally, a younger sister, Catherine, by her father and his second wife, Jacqueline Roque. Paloma recalls most of her child hood as, “I always thought that you breathe, you eat, you go to sleep, and you draw.” At age 8, Paloma began oil painting and found it very difficult and boring. At age 15, Paloma and her brother Claude were cut off from their father Pablo, after her mother wrote a tell-all memoir “Life with Picasso.”! !
Paloma went on to study jewelry design and fabrication at the University of Nanterre,
where she began designing costumes for avant-garde theatrical productions in Paris. In 1970, Paloma meets Yves Saint Laurent and begins crafting jewelry soon after. Several of her pieces are DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"2
included in designer Fernando Sanchez’s show and Saint Laurent invites her to design for his house. Paloma has plans to create a couture collection that will outrage and make history. ! !
Just a year later, Paloma begins designing jewelry, shoes and handbags for firms such as
Zolotas, out of Greece and her own jewelry begins to sell at Henri Bendel in New York. This was a time where Paloma really wanted to make her success her own and not something that stemmed from her father. In 1973, her father passes away and Paloma, as well as Claude and Maya are banned from the funeral. She decides to take a break from designing and focuses on helping her brother create the Musee Picasso in Paris. It is in this year that Paloma meets and moves in with Rafael Lopez-Cambil, also known as Lopez Sanchez, an Argentinean playwright. Soon after, Paloma takes on an acting career when she plays a seventeenth-century Transylvanian countess who bathes in the blood of virgins in the racy French film Immoral Tales. !
!
Four years after her father’s death, Paloma receives $20 million from her father’s estate
and Paloma marries Rafael Lopez-Cambil at the town hall. In 1980, Paloma began designed jewelry for Tiffany & Co and she moved to New York soon after. ! !
After her arrival in New York, Paloma was named to the International Best-Dressed List
Hall of Fame and her graffiti-inspired “Scribbles” jewelry line launched at Tiffany’s. The next year,
DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"3
she introduced her signature perfume, Paloma Picasso and described it as “jewelry for the senses.” And in that same year her signature “Hugs and Kisses” line launched with Tiffany’s. In the next years to come, Paloma introduces an accessory collections with items such as, handbags, scarves, belts shawls and umbrellas and she receives the Hispanic Designers MODA award for design excellence. She is also named the CFDA Accessory Designer of the year.! !
The 1990’s seemed as if they were the busiest years in Paloma’s career. She released two
male fragrances, bed linens for Martex, tableware for Villeroy & Boch, a line of men’s small leather goods and belts, and a fragrance for women, all in the midst of divorcing her husband. Since then, Paloma has stayed out of the spotlight, buying homes in Europe. But in 2010, she celebrated 30 years with Tiffany’s & Co. by presenting three lines: Marrakesh, Hammered Circles, and Dove. And in 2011, she received the Award for Achievement in the Arts from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. ! !
Presently, Paloma Picasso has about 20 different lines with Tiffany’s & Co. with a range of
products from rings to necklaces, rings and men’s accessories. These products range from $125$15,200. The materials used are Tiffany’s & Co. standards such as, Sterling Silver, Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, Stainless Steel and Titanium. !
! ! ! ! ! !
!
DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"4
!
Picasso’s ideas come from personal experience, love, and places she’s visited. She created
the Hugs and Kisses line when she met her husband, representing love, and she created her dove line to represent worldwide peace. Each of her lines have a deeper, personal meaning, which is wonderful to have as an artist because it leaves mystery behind each piece. ! !
As one would expect, Paloma’s jewelry is very tasteful, yet outrageous in its own way.
Paloma set the bar for modern day jewelry and many designers just can’t outdo her. I have seen many wannabe pieces at accessory departments in stores such as Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Von Maur. While these pieces are very similar, they will never meet the perfection that is Paloma Picasso. Paloma’s perfume can be found at department stores, but as far as her jewelry goes, you will have to visit a Tiffany’s & Co. store or their website in order to get your hands on this beautiful jewelry. Most of Paloma’s handbags are now being sold secondhand by those who have previously owned them.You can find plenty of her merchandise on websites such as eBay and Amazon.!
! ! DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"5
!
What caught my eye about Paloma Picasso is that she could have rode on her father’s
fame; collected his money and been like an other daughter of a millionaire. But Paloma made a name for herself and worked herself to much deserved success. For a woman who was raised in a broken home, banned from her father and lost him early on, she carried herself and proceeded on with life in the classiest way possible. As a designer and individual she is a true inspiration to the top of successor I would like to be one day.
DESIGNER ANALYSIS
"6