Tiffany & Co. Taps Artists, Including Damien Hirst, to Transform Windows at Selfridges
LONDON — Tiffany & Co. is ushering in art month in the British capital with a series of Selfridges windows filled with original works by Damien Hirst and other contemporary artists, and displays inspired by the brand’s colorful archive.
Tiffany’s Windows of Wonder, which will remain until Oct. 20, are located near the newly refurbished Tiffany space on Selfridges’ ground floor.
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The windows will be showcasing the Tiffany art and jewels during one of the busiest months of the year, with art fairs such as Frieze, Frieze Masters, PAD, LAPADA Berkeley Square and a host of sales at auction houses including Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams.
More than 130,000 people walk past Selfridges Oxford Street every day, according to Tiffany, which views the windows as a way to showcase new art, and the brand’s heritage, to the wider public.
In July, the Tiffany space at Selfridges was renovated with the latest interiors concept designed by Peter Marino for the jeweler’s Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan, known as The Landmark.
Anthony Ledru, CEO of Tiffany & Co., said the new windows are a way of “building on the impactful momentum of the redesign.”
Ledru added that tapping the four artists to create new works for Tiffany made sense because of the brand’s history of working with creatives.
Gene Moore, Tiffany’s storied window designer, worked with then-emerging 20th century artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns to create some of the house’s most memorable windows.
“For decades, the house’s window displays have been powerful expressions of inventiveness, wonder and wit, and it was important for us to work with local artists who exemplify the incredible creative talent in the U.K., and who share Tiffany’s innovative spirit and commitment to craft,” he added.
Those passing by Selfridges between now and late October are in for a thought-provoking and aesthetic treat.
They’ll be able to gaze at a giant Hirst pill, which has been tinged Tiffany’s shade of 1837 Blue, which is set against a backdrop of the artist’s signature butterflies.
Artist Rana Begum, meanwhile, has created screen-like structures covered in colorful geometric shapes. They are in stark contrast to Elsa Peretti’s organic Bone cuffs, which are on display in front of the screens.
James Righton’s work features illuminated circles and motors that move, make music, and aim to mimic a human heartbeat, while Jason Bruges’ installation explores a path of light as it shoots around the interior of a diamond.
Bruges created a 3D model based on the Tiffany Diamond, one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered.
Other windows are inspired by creations from the Tiffany archive. They include Moore’s “Theme on Pearls” from 1956, featuring pearls that resemble planetary objects set against a dark backdrop.
There is also “Stop!” a window from 2017, featuring a red hand wearing a gold Elsa Peretti ring, and “The Butterfly Lamp,” from 2024. The window, which is filled with a stained glass and butterfly design, honors Clara Driscoll, the woman who created the Tiffany Studios Butterfly table lamp in 1898.
There are 16 archive-inspired windows in all.
As part of the Selfridges window takeover, Tiffany hosted guided gallery tour experiences over the weekend. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the artist windows with an audio-guided tour. For those who did not make it, each window comes with a QR code that gives details about the work inside.
In addition to highlighting art month and the store refurb, Ledru said the Selfridges display is a way of saying thank you to the British capital.
“London has always been a priority for Tiffany & Co., and the house has a centuries-long connection to the market,” he said.
In 2022, Tiffany celebrated its 150th anniversary in London with the “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition that brought more than 400 objects from the Tiffany Archives to the Saatchi Gallery.
That show featured Audrey Hepburn’s slim, black Givenchy gown from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Jean Michel Schlumberger’s Snowflake Clip, made from gold, platinum, diamonds and yellow beryl, and his Bird on a Rock brooch flying over the London skyline.
Peretti had her own special display, including images of Grace Jones wearing a large Bone cuff as she smokes a cigarette; sketches of the designer’s Open Heart pendant, and a Helmut Newton portrait.
Ledru said the Selfridges installation demonstrates the brand’s “unwavering commitment to our local clientele,” and said the company is looking forward to expanding its presence in the market.
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