Beyoncé and JAY-Z in Tiffany 'About Love' Campaign Spotlighting Jean-Michel Basquiet

Music and business power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z star in Tiffany & Co’s new ‘About Love’ campaign. Beyoncé wears a curves-huggling black sheath, Givenchy-inspired gown, as well as mesh evening gloves—a look of sublime elegance that channels Audrey Hepburn’s ensemble in the 1961 film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.

The campaign and power couple are photographed by Mason Poole.

The man of the hour Jay-Z exudes a powerful, businessman’s elegance in a black tux, silk bow tie, and diamond-encrusted brooch.

It’s impossible to ignore the Tiffany blue background painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which is part of the set and not without controversy.

The ornate artwork, titled ‘Equals Pi’, exhibits Basquiat’s signature algebraic symbols, geometric shapes, and crown iconography. Part of a private collection, ‘Equals Pi’ [1982] is shown to the public for the first time.

Tiffany’s acquired the painting from a private collector. Executive vice president Alexandre Arnault told WWD that, “ We don’t have any literature that says he made the painting for Tiffany.” However, Arnault continued, “"We know he loved New York, and that he loved luxury and he loved jewelry," adding that, "The color is so specific that it has to be some kind of homage."

Controversy arose around the ‘About Love’ campaign with Beyonce wearing the 128.54 carat Tiffany Diamond, becoming the first Black woman to wear the jewelry masterpiece discovered in South Africa in 1977.

‘Woke’ commentary was not kind. NBC News ‘Think’ ran a headline Opinion | Beyoncé's Tiffany necklace has many facets — and they all reflect an ugly history. Journalist and culture critic Susanne Ramirez de Arellano wrote: “The diamond necklace's 82 facets reflect an ugly truth — and an unfinished story of white supremacy and colonialism that is difficult to ignore.”

Found in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa (under British rule) in 1877 as a 287.42 carat rough stone, it was later purchased by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1878 for $18,000. Its estimated worth today is $30 million.

Reading much of the online controversy, AOC closes on a comment from the YouTube video that drew praise and pride from others:

The amount of times I will watch this is probably not healthy…. But I love this representation of a healthy relationship, diversity of people in luxury retail limelight, talent, excellence, purity, opulence, regal, and all of the positive things that describe this. Some little child will watch this and say I can do it too…

LVMH’s courting of customers of color operates on multiple levels in America. In America non-white ethnic groups account for about 20% of the luxury customer spend. The impact of non-white Black and Latino talent on popular culture is enormous. Their cultural influence touches sports, music and now fashion in ways totally disproportionate to their numbers in the American population.

America’s younger people — especially Generation Z — have attitudes about race very different from their parents and grandparents. LVMH knows that these young people are their future — and not only in America. Thanks to the Internet, many more people of every are exposing themselves to both Black and Latino history around the world. Significant numbers of luxury customers have already woven this more global view into their daily lifestyles. So the appetite for both multicultural influences in design and also branding DNA is significant.

All of my instincts say that LVMH sees themselves as having a Medici-like influence on global culture. With that thinking comes a sense of duty — especially for the French.

Besides the obvious fact that Tiffany is courting progressive-values people generally on the subject of race and the influence of Black culture — along with other brands in the LVMH portfolio — I do believe that the Arnault family subscribes to the “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it” theory of empowering communities.

In our post George Floyd murder world, the Arnault family with Tiffany & Co and also Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton Men’s before his tragic death, have an alignment on “luxury for all” very much in sympatico with Ralph Lauren. Neither luxury house acquired this awareness naturally or without self-criticism. But they are leaders in promoting a multicultural world and today they have become very good at marketing towards this goal.

Many people don’t know that Jay-Z sold his champagne company to LVMH in a deal that wasn’t the typical 51/49 split. It’s the first 50-50 deal LVMH ever did, and it reflects their commitment and Jay-Z’s to working towards common consensus on marketing, budgets, all key aspects of running the business.

In conclusion, the criticism against Beyonce and Jay-Z selling out to Tiffany & Co will always be there. But those voices are ignorant on just how deeply LVMH is embedded in non-white culture.

Their business relationship with Beyonce and Jay-Z is one of mutual respect and intimacy between the parties. It’s an exemplary and inspiring model for all of us to follow. ~ Anne