http://www.harpersbazaar.com/ukAccording to legend,
Prague was founded in the
eighth century by Libussa,
the prophetess Queen of the
Goths, who told her people
about her vision for ‘a great city
whose glory will touch the stars’
and ordered it to be built on a cliff
above the Vltava. The historic capital of
Bohemia still stands there today, its exquisite
architectural beauty leading to its soubriquet of
the Golden City, the jewel in the crown of central Europe.
It was the perfect place, therefore, for the launch of Francesca
Amfitheatrof ’s first High Jewellery collection for Louis Vuitton,
inspired as it was by mediaeval heroines of both myth and history,
whose strength and vision allowed them to break free from the
constraints imposed on them by their lesser status as women.
The ‘Riders of the Knights’ collection was revealed, piece by
glittering piece, on a balmy June evening at the Troja Palace, worn
by models dressed in simple black, the
better to show off the gems. One was
a warrior queen in a high, fluid dia-
mond neck piece reminiscent
of chain mail, a huge sapphire
sparkling at its centre, and a
cuff like a portcullis on her
wrist; another wore a neck-
lace bearing an aquamarine
as big as an egg, its turquoisecore a mysterious heart
of darkness; a third was
decked in a rope of bril-
liants from which swung
the Louis Vuitton flower,
reinterpre ted as a heraldic
emblem in emeralds and dia-
monds. They seemed armoured
in light, protected by the mystic aura
of the jewels.
‘There were a number of women in medi-
aeval times who, through their vision and strength,
changed history,’ Amfitheatrof explained. ‘They were from different
parts of the world, some of them were from royal households,
but others came from nothing, and they led men to follow them
on the most extraordinary adventures... These pieces take you on
that journey.’
Amfitheatrof joined Louis Vuitton last year from Tiffany &
Co, where she had spent four years as the design director, creating
its iconic minimalist ‘T’ collection, alongside extravagant, aquatic-
inspired high jewellery. For Vuitton, by contrast, she has drawn
on the idea of a voyage through time as well as space – appropri-
ate for a French fashion house whose name is synonymous with
intrepid travel.
‘I definitely always want a story when I’m coming up with a col-
lection,’ she tells me. ‘I need something that moves me. These stones
were created millions of years ago,
and we dig them kilometres below
the ground... It’s kind of crazy to
think that these diamonds are the
only thing you can wear on your
finger that symbolise the beg inning
of the world, the Big Bang.’
There are six different lines
making up the 52-piece ‘Riders of
the Knights’ collection, each with
its own theme and highlighting a
different gem. To celebrate a set of
navy-blue Madagascan sapphires,Below: Joan of
Arc. Right: a
model at the
launch of
the collection
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This page and
opposite: pieces from
the Louis Vuitton
High Jewellery
‘Riders of the
Knights’ collection.
Right: a La Reine
necklace. Far right:
L’Intuition
earrings
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Above: the design
for the L’Intuition
necklace. Right: a
Le Talisman ring