Technically-speaking this fashion campaign is about Fendi’s x Tiffany winter-drop two weeks before the holidays. Yet the power of a color — Tiffany Blue — defines it’s larger message and impact. The campaign is promoted almost solely by Fendi.

So strong is the Tiffany Blue in these Fendi images that both drops in December and now January feature relatively unknown models. To state the obvious, the success of the campaign has nothing to do with the models.

In fact, Fendi x Tiffany is able to do something far more important than to put the world’s biggest [and expensive] faces into this marketing campaign.

Fashion Democracy Takes Many Forms

Talk about making dreams come true. The five new faces include Ava Christian, Maca Cabrera and Shuping Li in the December 2022 drop and now Enya Davis and Sophia Lisbon in January 2023. Imagine the impact of this campaign in their virgin portfolios. [Note that we have just found yet another model and she’s not mentioned anywhere. We have no more time, but no offense intended. She’s in extra January shots end of images. If anyone knows, tell us.]

Delfina Delettrez, Fendi’s Artistic Director of Jewelry is credited across the marketing, along with Kim Jones, Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear at Fendi; and Silvia Venturini Fendi, Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear.

Ellie Grace Cumming styled the December marketing campaign and Melanie Ward styled the January campaign. Photographer Johnny Dufort [IG] is the sole photographer. /Both campaigns hair by Benjamin Muller; makeup by Hiromi Ueda

Trademarked as a color in 1998, and added as an official color to the Pantone system in 2001 [use governed exclusively by Tiffany], the color was trademarked in every classification.

In fact the color is so key to the marketing of this Fendi collab — the Tiffany Baguette [images above and below] is no longer available in the new January 5 in-store drop.

Stuart Semple’s Big Dare

Maverick artist Stuart Semple dared Tiffany & Co to sue him, when he liberated Tiffany Blue in 2021, creating Tiff.

Most IP lawyers agree that Tiffany would have won a lawsuit against Semple. The question was if they really wanted to sue artists — famous and not famous — the audience who bought the soldout Tiff acrylic paint at once.

The answer is no.

Make no mistake, though. Apparel brands big and small, for rich people and poor people, will feel the full force of Bernard Arnault himself bearing down on them with no mercy, should they ever be stupid enough to use the instantaneously-recognizable Tiffany Blue in apparel and accessories — and anything else I can think of.

If ‘Save the Children’ used the color without permission, that might be a situation similar to Semple’s. Given the LVMH commitment to activist and philanthropic causes, the first prudent action would be to gain their support in using the color.

If that can not happen, then I would give up the idea and not test the commitment of LVMH in protecting what is clearly becoming an important part of the corporate marketing strategy.