Hood by Air's shoes for Swarovski's "Lucky 13" auction
Precision-cut crystal maker Swarovski is celebrating the thirteenth year of its partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards with a charitable auction.
Swarovski enlisted the nine designers nominated for a Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent to design an item to be auctioned online to benefit Free Arts NYC. Hosting this auction allows Swarovski to celebrate a unique milestone while also showcasing its support of the fashion and art worlds.
"Swarovski likely chose this form of engagement to celebrate the milestone because it truly embodies Swarovski's brand's purpose," said Michael Chatfield, strategy director at The O Group, New York. "It positions Swarovski as a brand that enables and inspires creative expression.
"Giving the emerging designers freedom to artistically interpret the 13-year anniversary is native to the way the brand has engaged designers for over a century," he said. "Since 1895, Swarovski has been a champion of innovative designers, revolutionizing the fashion and jewelry industries by providing high quality loose elements that enable designers to create extraordinary finished products.
"That’s exactly what this is about: Swarovski brings the crystals, the designers bring the awesome."
Mr. Chatfield is not affiliated with Swarovski but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Swarovski did not respond by press deadline.
Emerging artists
Swarovski’s brand name appears on three awards given out to up-and-coming designers at the CFDA Awards each year, in the categories of women’s wear, menswear and accessories.
Trova statue given to CFDA Award winners
To commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of its collaboration in presenting the awards, Swarovski asked the designers in each of the three categories to create objets d’art based on the theme “Lucky 13.” Each piece incorporates crystals and Swarovski elements.
Irene Neuwirth, nominated in the accessories category for her accessories line, created a floral bedazzled skateboard.
Women’s wear designer Rosie Assoulin used Xilion crystals to make sand art housed in 13 8-by-10 inch frames. As of press time, her creation had the most and highest bids, with 27 bidders raising the price to more than $4,000.
Rosie Assoulin's art for Swarovski's auction
Other inventions run the gamut from basketball jerseys to a record player and tiny robots.
Creature of the Wind's record player for Swarovski's Lucky 13 auction
The pieces are being auctioned on the Web site Gavel & Grand. Consumers need to have an account to bid, but they can follow the lots of interest by logging in with their Facebook profile or creating an account on the site.
Gavel & Grand Web site
Free Arts NYC is a nonprofit that provides both educational art and mentoring to underserved children to help build their self-confidence. The charity works with all ages of youth, from pre-kindergarten to high school students.
From 2012 to 2013, 99 percent of the youth involved in the program said that when they grow up, they believe they will do something important.
"If I had to reverse-engineer Swarovski’s strategy for choosing Free Arts NYC, I’d attribute it to both the cultural relevance of the Free Arts NYC brand and the importance of the charity’s mission," Mr. Chatfield said.
"The charity is a favorite of many iconic designers, having collaborated with the likes of Marc Jacobs, DVF, and Michael Beirut," he said. "I feel it’s because the cause appeals to every designer's altruistic side, affirming that yes, it is possible to make the world better through creativity.
"By leveraging the cultural currency of the emerging designers and Free Arts NYC, it positions Swarovski as a fresh, relevant brand at the intersection of art, design, and pop culture. In other words, a brand that transcends trends and never goes out of style."
The auction will end June 2 at 7 p.m., just in time for the awards.
Periodically, Swarovski has promoted the auction on social media to gain interest and traffic from its followers.
Facebook post from Swarovski
This year’s CFDA Awards ceremony will be held on June 2 at Lincoln Center in New York and broadcasted the following day on the CFDA’s Web site.
Fashionable cause
Swarovski’s positioning in accessories is tied to its place in the fashion industry. The brand is a staunch supporter of new designers.
The precision cut-crystal maker hand-picked a number of fashion designers to show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York as part of its Swarovski Collective.
In addition to providing financial support to the designers, the brand gave them crystals to use in their designs. Swarovski is able to showcase its own creativity through this project, as well as show its good citizenship within the fashion industry (see story).
Auctions allow consumers to celebrate milestones with a brand in a very hands-on manner.
Italian fashion house Fendi is celebrating the upcoming opening of its New Bond Street store in London with a charity auction of celebrity-designed handbags.
For Fendi’s Peekaboo Project, 10 personalities with ties to London designed personalized versions of its Peekaboo bag, which will be auctioned online on the brand’s Web site beginning May 1-May 30 to benefit Kids Company. Aligning with a local charity will allow Fendi to connect with its newest community (see story).
Like Fendi, Swarovski’s charity will help instill a feeling of warmth from local consumers, as well as give the brand attention.
"The thirteenth anniversary of an event is not usually a major milestone that is celebrated," said Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, Atlanta.
"I feel Swarovski probably felt this charitable activity would help expand coverage of its CFDA partnership and enhance its image among CFDA members and the consumers who follow its activities," he said. "It also gives them considerable content to use in publicity and social media.
"Free Arts NYCis a very worthwhile charity that has a positive image, especially among the affluent who support the arts, and this auction will attract media attention in the number one media market. It will produce good exposure for Swarovski at virtually no incremental cost.
"This auction will help enhance the Swarovski brand among current and potential customers."
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York