Can pearls be rebellious? Certainly, as is being proven by the latest collaboration between the vaunted pearl jeweller Mikimoto and Hollywood luxury brand Chrome Hearts. The story began earlier than you might think. In 2020, Jesse Jo Stark, the eldest daughter of the Stark family that founded and owns Chrome Hearts, was struck by inspiration. Pearls, she thought, had a duality in them. They were both classically beautiful, as a gem cherished since antiquity, yet had the potential to be radically rebellious.
Chrome Hearts, founded in 1988, has carved out a unique space among luxury brands. Even as it has skyrocketed to fame and been worn by countless celebrities, the brand maintains a rebellious individualism. Its communications online are cryptic, to say the least, and in order to acquire one of its creations, one has to visit a boutique in person. Its sterling silver jewellery sells like hotcakes, and the brand creates and releases new products on its own schedule.
In addition to the standard fare of fashion, accessories and jewellery, the brand also creates unusual custom pieces. The late Karl Lagerfeld, an ardent fan, was said to have owned furniture as well as homeware objects from the brand such as a sterling silver pencil sharpener and an ebony wood toilet plunger. The brand creates gold salt and pepper shakers, silver single-slice lemon squeezers and other miscellany. But what sets these apart is the quality of their make: Chrome Hearts runs its own factory in Hollywood, with the capabilities to make almost anything it wants.
For Jesse Jo, thinking about pearls meant integrating the elegant classicism of the gem with the gothic, rock-and-roll style of Chrome Hearts jewellery. When the idea was floated to Richard Stark, her father and founder of the brand, he simply asserted: “If it’s pearls, it has to be Mikimoto.” Then came an introduction to the Japanese jeweller, which earned its reputation as the originator of cultured pearls—and even today, as a purveyor of some of the world’s finest pearls.
Years were then spent by both brands immersing themselves in each other’s creative processes and universes so as to develop an aesthetic language that reflects both equally. The result: a collection of four high jewellery necklaces and 11 fine jewellery pieces—a pendant, a lariat necklace, two pearl strand necklaces, five styles of earrings, a bracelet and a pin brooch— that combines the boldness of Chrome Heart motifs with exquisite Mikimoto pearls and craftsmanship.
The December ‘Gratification’ issue of Vogue Singapore is now available online or on newsstands.
