GK Du Jour: Can an iconic bag inspire an iconic jewelry line?

With the launch of Kellymorphose, Hermès reimagines its iconic Kelly bag as a jewelry collection, and we have all the details.

Much like Prince, Cher or Madonna, there are certain bags so iconic that they’re known simply by their first name—like the Kelly. Now, Hermès invites you to take the iconic bag a step further and wear a version of it around your neck (quite literally!), with the launch of its new fine jewelry collection, Kellymorphose.

The Hermès Kelly bag has been known to percolate the culture of our times. Consider the history: In a moment that is cemented in pop culture, American actress and Princess, Grace Kelly was photographed leaving a plane, shielding her baby bump from photographers using her Hermès bag. It was this bag that was later renamed Kelly—and was perhaps the first accessory in history to ever graduate to It-bag status.

Kelly Gavroche necklace in white gold and diamonds.

Today, from Victoria Beckham who has gone on record to state that she owns one for every occasion, to Beyonce who’s been photographed with her orange macro travel Kelly, the bag is layered with stories of universal love. Which explains why Pierre Hardy, director of jewelry at Hermès, was so inspired by it, and chose to design a jewelry collection capturing the bag’s timeless quality. In a collection that revolves around the bag’s hardware—the padlock and key, the strap, and the clochette—the designer re-imagines them as elements of a jewelry collection. “These objects have become symbols, icons, idols. I think that by isolating them, I have retained their strength and ensured that they lose none of their meaning or symbolic value. On the contrary, they are strengthened by this isolation, and it gives them a new status,” he explains in an official video by the French luxury maison, on YouTube.

Kelly Clochette GM necklace in rose gold.

The Kelly has always served the modern woman, and this jewelry collection is no exception—it aims to capture the many dimensions she embodies. The use of the baguette-cut of diamond, for example—known for its distinct rectangular shape—mirrors the trapezoidal geometry of the original bag. The prevalence of black spinel, with its intense, dark tones, is juxtaposed against the warmth of rose gold, a material Hardy appreciates for its warmth and femininity.

Kelly Baguettes Five-Row bracelet.

Kelly Clochette earrings.

In today’s world of multi-hyphenates, it comes as no surprise that many of the collection’s pieces, such as the Precieux Kelly Sautoir necklaces, offer multiple wearing styles, whereas the Kelly clochette earrings, which dangle free-form, are both distinct pieces rather than a matching set, inviting the woman to choose how she wears them. The pièce de résistance? A miniature diamond-encrusted replica of the bag that started it all, reimagined as a pendant—the Sac Bijou Kelly, which offers the most intimate experience of the Kelly bag yet—wearing it right against your skin. Modernity, sophistication, and the embracing of femininity—this collection manages to capture the essence that lies at the heart of the House of Hermès.

Read the article at Vogue India.