Bella Hadid Becomes Swarovski Ambassador, Face of Latest Campaign

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LONDON — Swarovski is stepping up its marketing for a new generation, naming Bella Hadid as brand ambassador and the face of its latest campaign, WWD has learned.

An announcement is expected on Thursday.

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Swarovski’s global creative director Giovanna Engelbert said the brand wanted Hadid for both roles because she’s “just outstanding, and radiates that very modern sense of glamour.”

Engelbert said the model embodies “the attitude of a new generation that is nonconformist and individualistic.”

Hadid will serve as ambassador for a year, and Engelbert said the plan is to “share our common ideas through different activities” over the 12 months.

Engelbert has been making sweeping changes to the look and feel of the brand since she took over as the company’s first global creative director two years ago. She’s been trying to make Swarovski jewelry less formal, and wants to appeal to a younger audience with a rainbow of colored crystals, new cuts and bigger, bolder jewels meant to be worn every day, like fashion items.

Image Courtesy of Swarovski

She’s also christened a new Wonderlab retail concept which aims to transmit a new “joyful” sense of glamour.

“Today, crystals are a dynamic part of our everyday wardrobe: a way of accentuating your individual style in a way that can be as casual as it can be elaborate. Bella is the poster girl for this state of mind,” said Engelbert.

Hadid said she took the job because “Swarovski celebrates all people and the idea of modern glamour, and I love that. I also love the new collections and what the brand has been doing, especially these past two years under Giovanna’s creative vision. I really see Swarovski as the contemporary jewelry brand of the future.”

The model, who’s been an ambassador for brands ranging from Bulgari to Tag Heuer to Dior Beauty, also believes jewelry can have a transformative power. It is known, she said, “to heighten and affect individual, personal characteristics and inner feelings, such as making someone feel sexier, more powerful, and even growing someone’s confidence.

“It can boost your mood and it can be symbolic of personal beliefs, our image, and our culture. It can express feelings of love and also mark all those important moments in our lives. For me, jewelry gives confidence and reflects my personality and mood for the day. It is very much a part of my life,” she said.

Conceived by Engelbert and photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the campaign sets out to paint a “multifaceted portrait” of Hadid, and cast her as a “new-generation icon.”

It features six portraits of the model with different, colorful backgrounds. Each portrait is framed by a colored crystal aperture that’s been cut in the octagonal shape of the brand’s logo, packaging and signature Millenia Family.

Engelbert said the images are meant to show Hadid going from “sporty to glamorous while remaining the same girl — the same Bella — with confidence and authority.”

Image Courtesy of Swarovski

Hadid said the shoot was “so much fun, and it allowed me to play different characters, which I love to do. We shot in color blocks that champion key products and my favorite set-up was yellow; it was super strong and sexy. I love the Lucent designs — the yellow earrings and ring are my favorites. Giovanna said they are like wearing vitamin C, and that’s exactly how it feels.”

The campaign launches on Thursday, but will only begin rolling out globally on Monday.

The Wonderlab retail concept launched last year with a fizzy flagship in Zurich on Bahnhofstrasse Avenue. At the time, Engelbert called the flagship “an evolution, so after having [products presented] vertically, I wanted to have a more tactile experience, in a living room in this spaceship-meets-candy-store-meets-jewelry-box.”

Wonderlab stores have been rolling out across Europe and one is set to open on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue next year.

The two-level flagship will be located at 680 Fifth Avenue by 54th Street, and will span 14,000 square feet, with more than 150 feet of double-height wraparound exposure and frontage. It is scheduled to open in November 2023.

Swarovski said the new flagship will be a “huge milestone” for the brand as it expands across the globe.

The 127-year-old Austrian maker of crystal, watches, jewelry and gifts has been undergoing a major transformation involving a reboot of its brick-and-mortar store network; an overhaul of its offerings, and a recent management shake-up.

Nadja Swarovski, who originally gave Swarovski its fashion edge, and supported young and established designers for decades, left the company last year as part of the changes.

Her cousin Robert Buchbauer has resigned as chief executive officer while another relative, Mathias Margreiter, has given up his position as chief financial officer. Swarovski is searching for their replacements, both of whom are likely to be from outside of the family.

Swarovski has also welcomed a slew of board members from around the world — and outside the founding family.

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