Chitose Abe, the designer of Sacai, and French Maison Cartier have come together to collaborate on the jewellery brand’s iconic Trinity collection. Comprising of six new limited-edition pieces, the collaboration gives a twist to the timeless masterpiece.
Cartier has invited Chitose Abe of Sacai to reimagine its iconic Trinity ring. The collection of six limited edition pieces, brings together one of fashion’s most prolific collaborators – Nike and Dior Men number among Abe’s highest profile hook-ups – with a jeweler who has rarely, if ever, invited clothing designers into its atelier. Abe wears an armful of Cartier bangles – a Love bracelet with diamonds and the nut-and-bolt Écrou de Cartier, included – but it’s her design process of “turning the familiar into something new” that makes her such an inspired partner for the historic jeweler.
Known for her experimental designs, Abe is known for her experimental style, amalgamating high fashion and athleticwear silhouettes into one. Similarly, Abe’s interpretation of Cartier’s Trinity collection is based on the same concept of individuality and multi-functionality. In Abe’s re-imagination of the icon, two of the original intertwined bands are now extended so that the bands can be worn over multiple fingers.
Abe exolains the design intent behind the rethink of the Trinity ring, “It goes back to the idea of my clothes. There are many different ways to wear them. I wanted to apply that theory to the design of Trinity – the individuality in how to wear the piece”.
Though almost a century old, the Trinity collection’s legacy has not been lost with time and today, remains one of the maison’s signature items.
Conceived by Louis Cartier in 1924 at the request of French polymath Jean Cocteau, the creation of the minimalistic piece was a bold deviation from the usual overly embellished pieces of the Art Deco era. To conceive something as simple as the Trinity ring, devoid of any embellishments was simply absurd and out of character.
When the Trinity ring was introduced in 1924 it was downright radical. “It was daring for a house like Cartier, well known to supply all the kings and queens and aristocrats of the entire world, to propose such a simple object, so intimate in the lives of our clients,” Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s director of image, style, and heritage, said. “That it could be worn by both men and women, by different generations, the young and also more mature, was something very interesting for the 1920s”.
Looking back, the contemporary masterpiece was ahead of its time. Comprising of three interlaced bands of yellow, grey and rose gold, the ring has become a symbol of elegance in the world of fine luxury and has also inspired a whole collection of jewellery, all of which make use of the same interwoven bands.
The ring’s persisting popularity through the decades is not only due to its magnificent design, but also to its powerful symbolism. From an emblem of steadfast friendship or a profession of everlasting love – almost a century after its creation, its charm continues to hold strong.
Come into the beautiful world of Cartier.
Yakymour 