Why Lauren Santo Domingo was awestruck to join Tiffany Home: the incoming artistic director pr
“I was awestruck for this opportunity but it’s something that feels very natural,” says the 47-year-old. “I’m at a place in my life where this is something I can do with a certain amount of authority and authenticity, and I have a fondness and a real affection for this iconic brand so it’s a total honour.”
At a time when concepts such as etiquette and propriety seem to be going by the wayside, Santo Domingo is one of those rare modern-day society swans who actually believe in them, while also understanding that they need to be adapted to how people live in the 21st century.
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“When I was young, there was a lot of pressure to have the proper etiquette and do things in the correct way, to get everything right. So I wanted to ... take out all the guesswork and all the uncertainty,” she says.
“We want people to know that with everything that we offer they can confidently set the most beautiful table, however you’re putting it together and adding your own style and flowers and making it personal. You cannot make a mistake – everything is foolproof.”
A category that had been a bit of a sleeping beauty in the luxury world, homeware has become more exciting since the pandemic, when people started spending more time at home and investing in beautiful pieces to decorate their personal spaces. While Tiffany is mainly known as a jeweller, the brand has been making homeware since its early days. Indeed, that as soon as her appointment was made public, friends and acquaintances started showing Santo Domingo photos of old Tiffany homeware collections, some belonging to their mothers and grandmothers.
“Tiffany really is a part of people’s lives for all these important milestones – graduation, first child, engagement, wedding, the holidays – and this is an extension of all those memories being created, of those dinners and occasions, and being a part of the best moments of your life and creating these collections that can be embedded in our memories and personal history and tradition.”
While Santo Domingo loves the newness of fashion, she is also drawn to pieces that stand the test of time and can be passed down from generation to generation. For her first Tiffany collections, she updated archival prints and re-created them in colours inspired by gemstones. She also revisited the brand’s signature T pattern, to create classics that can work both in a country home or in a more formal setting. “What’s most important is being mindful of what the lifestyle of today’s consumers is and speaking to how they entertain. We wanted to create these core collections that speak to the legacy of the house and have patterns that can stand the test of time and are truly iconic,” she says.
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As a long-time customer and lover of all things Tiffany, Santo Domingo is well aware of the codes of the house but she’s also ready to shake things up while staying true to the chic and refined aesthetic at the heart of who she is and what she does.
“People in fashion and creative fields are always talking about taste or an eye. Are you born with it or not? I don’t know if there’s an answer but I think it’s important to grow and always train your eye and see new things,” she says. “At the end of the day, it comes down to having confidence in your taste and point of view and what you can bring to something.”
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