Category: Editorial

NFT Jewelry? WTF?

NFT Jewelry – A fundamental change is happening at the very core of the jewelry field– a new generation of designers, craftspeople, and collectors are diving into technologies such as Blockchain and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). But where does this seemingly un-correlated and highly disruptive technology fit within the jewelry industry, and how do jewelers, large and small, intentionally incorporate it into their work?

A model showing Simone Faurschou's NFT Jewelry line, "Blockchain" crafted of 18-karat FairMined yellow gold and accented with Lab Grown diamonds.
C/O: Simone Faurschou

Independent NFT Jewelry

Award-winning, independent designer Simone Faurschou, who participated in our 2022 digital panel, “What Does Web3 Mean for Jewelry?” was one of the early adopters of NFT technology in the jewelry industry. Renowned for highlighting the contrast between chaos and order in nature and the interaction with the man-made world, Faurschou created a collection of necklaces titled “Blockchain,” that focussed on NFT education through physical representation.

Simone Faurschou's NFT. NFT Jewelry example.
C/O: Simone Faurschou

Her NFTs are digital works of art, a unique video animation depicting a circle of individual blocks in yellow/white gold with diamonds, breathing in and out against a natural backdrop. Hosted on the NFT platform and market, KnownOrigin, once purchased, the collector is shipped a physical pendant crafted in 18-karat, FairMined gold, accented with lab-grown diamonds. This unique approach of bridging the natural and human-made world to her collectors not only aids in better understanding the NFT and Blockchain tech but also gives the collector a one-of-a-kind jewel to enjoy their acquisition daily.

Simone Faurschou's Blockchain Pendant necklace crafted in 18-karat FairMined yellow gold and accented Lab Grown diamonds. A NFT Jewelry Collection.
C/O: Simone Faurschou

An approachable, self-created, and thoughtful collection crafted of ethically concious materials, I believe Faurschou’s take is a prime example of how an independent artist can integrate NFT technology with jewelry. Attracting and inducting a passionate group of collectors, Faurschou should be watched closely as an industry leader working in Blockchain as she ramps up her collections.

Striking While Hot

From independent jewelers to major powerhouses, many are bringing their own take to the unique world of blockchain. Tiffany & Co. is no exception.

Through the release of Tiffany’s hyper-exclusive “NFTiff” pendant collection, Senior Vice President of Product and Communications Alexandre Arnault, aged 30, has turned Tiffany to appeal to a younger and more tech-savvy generation than what the iconic jeweler has traditionally been associated with. Playing on the “hype factor” that has led fashion brands like SUPREME to enormous success, Tiffany collaborated with CryptoPunk, an early and popular 8-bit NFT, creating 250 limited-edition jewel-encrusted pendants. Priced at 30ETH (at the time of release, about 50,000 USD), the collection sold out in less than 20 minutes, even with a requirement that a buyer owns a CryptoPink NFT at the time of purchase. 

NFT Jewelry - A Tiffany & Co. NFTIFF pendant in a tiffany blue box with black satin lining.
C/O Tiffany & Co.

What’s important to understand about Tiffany’s take on NFT jewelry is the rights you receive when purchasing an NFT. When you buy an NFT, you buy the Intellectual Property (IP) and rights to a digital work of art. In essence, when Tiffany offered the NFTiff collection, the participants were licensing Tiffany to create a physical good from their IP. The rights of creating, owning, and arguably even wearing the newly minted CryptoPunk pendant lie with the current owner of that specific NFT and nobody else. If you sell the NFT, you’re selling the rights and property of the pendant, and all future works derived from it, adding another layer of perceived value to your digital property. But is this value real? Does it hold its value? And, does Tiffany’s model make sense for a smaller, independent jeweler?

With recession worries, looming government regulations, and numerous high-profile crypto-firm bankruptcies and lawsuits coming into play, I feel consumers are losing trust in the conglomerate NFT and Blockchain system and rethinking their approach to such high-profile, expensive, and experimental acquisitions.

Strictly based on monetary value, the price of the Tiffany & Co. pendant today (30 ETH) would be valued at about 54,000 USD; however, this price has fluctuated violently over the past year, with potential losses reaching up to 12,000 USD on paper. While we haven’t seen the sale of an NFTiff pendant (and corresponding NFT) to show how these values hold up, or if they even will, it will be something to keep a close eye on.

The front and back of Tiffany's NFTIFF pendant. NFT Jewelry example.
C/O: Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany capitalized on a hot trend that struck gold for them at the height of the NFT craze, but they have the marketing dollars, financial backing, and large client base to ensure its success and, worse case, keep the lights on should it have proved to be a flop. However, independent makers rarely, if ever, have this safety net, and collectors seeking out an independent maker’s work usually want to acquire a unique vision and expression of their world– not another artist’s work re-interpreted into precious materials. Given the Blockchain and economic turbulence we are seeing, it may best to stay clear of this method unless you have an NFT-curious client base, alongside the time and resources to spend experimenting with possible directions and artistic collaborations.

No Fakes For You

From Haute Joaillerie to Haute Horlogerie, the siren call of Blockchain tech doesn’t cease. Bvlgari’s Octo Finnisimo, the world’s thinnest watch at the time of its release, debuted how NFT and Blockchain tech could upset and secure the timekeeping and precious material realms.

Wound by a small wheel on the side, the dial showcased a unique QR code laser engraved on the stainless steel ratchet seated within the exposed skeleton movement. When scanned, the QR code directs the user to a digital experience– transporting you through the history of timekeeping and allowing you access to an exclusive NFT.

Bvlgari's NFT Jewelry, showing the complex dial Octo Finissimo time piece.
C/O: Bulgari

There is a key difference between how Bvlgari and Tiffany & Co. use Blockchain tech in their jewels. Like Tiffany’s pendants, the Finnisimo is tethered to an exclusive NFT. However, it wasn’t birthed from this NFT. So what could its purpose be beyond a conversation starter? Authentication and proof of ownership.

For decades, no matter how exclusive or rare a timepiece is, the watchmaking community, particularly the Swiss watchmaking community, has been plagued by counterfeit goods. Speaking with first-hand experience from my five years at a Pawnbroker, I can attest to the level of detail these counterfeits have developed, to the point where the counterfeit and the authentic watch, even held side by side, are nearly indistinguishable from one another. While watchmakers have done their best to implement certain security features into their dials, cases and serial numbers, counterfeiters seem to be consistently hot on their heels with a response. By integrating an NFT into the watch dial, Bvlgari can tether the ownership and authentication of the watch in a similar way to Tiffany’s pendants.

BVLGARI's NFT jewelry example: A close up of the engracing process of a QR code gear on Bvlgari's Octo Finnisimo timepiece.
C/O: Bulgari

So, what bearing does this concept have on the wider jewelry field? A similar adaptation of NFT and Blockchain tech could aid in further securing and streamlining the third-party authentication and auditing of FairTrade, FairMined and recycled precious metals. You could also push this tech even further by integrating it into GIA (and the like) reports, allowing for more consumer transparency and confidence when making acquisitions. The possibilities and benefits are endless.

The Big .JPG

This all said, we’re still very much in the early days of NFT technology, and whether it finds bearing in the industry or not is yet to be shown. However, right now, you can either demand or reject it. But, as always, stay true to yourself, your core beliefs, and your creative vision when forging your path forward.

Editorial written and laid out by Future Heirloom Editor, Nicholas Hyatt; Find Nicholas at his site Ping Pong Ring and @ping_pong_ring.

Ways We Say I Love You

Karen Davidov, founder of The Jewelry Library, and I, JB Jones, Co-founder of NYC Jewelry Week, started a project called Ways We Say I Love You in 2020. It focused on the unique, and often simple, ways we, as humans, say “I Love You.” If you’re curious, you can dig deeper into that one here.

Considering the tumultuous and uncertain path we’ve all been on these past 2 years, Karen and I decided to return to the project and pose a new question: how do we say I love you now? We have some thoughts (in our usual jewelry-speak) – more thoughts than answers just to be clear – which we shared over the past 8 days on Instagram.

As we close out our exploration on the topic today, on Valentine’s Day, we have compiled the complete Q&A and the jewelry that inspired it below. We welcome you to send us your thoughts, or answers, as you browse through our musings. Reach us on Instagram @j_b_j_o_n_e_s and @thejewelrylibrary. Enjoy!

Day 1

Q: How do we say I love you?  

A: From a place deep within.

In trying to make sense of a world full of uncertainty, we’re not even sure who we are anymore. We’ve been talking less, and listening more, not just to others, but to ourselves. The Shield Mantis necklace by Daniela Villegas, shown above, is the quintessential piece for self-reflection. 

“The mantis deals with stillness and patience—taking its time, and living life at its own pace. They remind us to go within, meditate, get quiet and reach a place of calmness. To be mindful of our decisions, to be congruent in what we think, say and act.The mantis’ mindful movements are a representation and symbol of meditation and contemplation.” – Daniela Villegas

Day 2

Q: How do we say I love you?  

A: By seeing beauty in the everyday.

We’ve learned what’s important, and it’s the things we’ve often taken for granted. Like hugs.

French jewelry artist Julie Faber’s beribboned necklace, shown above, “honors” the everyday with an array of fruit – a ripe banana, the perfect summer tomato, a fresh lemon – as if plucked from an old masters’ still life painting, reminding us it IS always about the little things.

Day 3

Q: How do we say I love you?

A: With fearlessness. 

It may be a cliche, but the opposite of fear is love. Love more. Fear less. Fear less. Love more. That’s all there is to it.

Pictured below left is jeweler Jiwon Choi’s I Will Survive (aka Fearless) Earring.

Day 4

Q: How do we say I love you?

A: We just say it.  

To the young lady Cristina Rinaldi Belizzi,

Do never forget about me. Love me with your noble heart.

Receive my deeply filled with affection greetings from the person who loves you.

I send them with the feelings of lovers.

Your future spouse,

Francesco Greco

Pictured above right is a vintage gold-plated frame brooch by artist and jeweler Biba Schutz from the late 1980s featuring a photograph of her husband Ron’s Italian grandmother and grandfather, Cristina and Francesco. Here is their love story…

“My grandfather returned from World War I to discover his love Cristina was gone, sent off to America by her land-owning parents to get her away from her love, a lowly tailor. Desperate to find her, Francesco wrote a postcard and gave it to her sister with hopes that Cristina would receive it.”

She must have, because soon after, Francesco headed for America and found Christina living with relatives in Philadelphia. They married in 1921. 

Wear your heart on your sleeve, and a frame of your loved one on your heart! The Jewelry Library has a small selection of this wonderful “old stock” brooch available – you can add your own image. Contact them here for more info.

Day 5

Q: How do we say I love you? 

A: From a new vantage point. 

We’ve been through a lot these past two years. Collectively and individually. We’ve kept our head down and soldiered on, we’ve lost our minds and come to a stand still. We tried to take it all in and process it. We’ve succeeded and we’ve failed. 

We find ourselves, after traveling through an abyss of confusion, uncertainty, new frontiers and old fears, at the brink of a new future. Knowing we must build that new future from the rubble of knowledge we’re standing on.

Above we share a video of the work of recent Central Saint Martins’ graduate, Jo Harrison-Hall, to serve as a reminder of where we’ve been, what we discovered there, and how it can help us see clearly going forward. Harrison-Hall faced personal demons of OCD around cleanliness and germs throughout the pandemic, resulting in the creation of ‘Rinse and Repeat’, a body of work focusing on our developed practices and physical actions of ‘keeping clean’ during the pandemic.

“I began the project to acknowledge my own fears and anxieties about germs and getting ill, and to confront the excessive actions I was taking to calm my fears and ‘reduce risk’.”

“I created sculptures using soapstone and alabaster that place our hands in these positions when we interact with them, gently guiding us through the correct method. These tactile objects seem calming and meditative – much like how hand washing soothes our fears of germs.”

Whatever they are for each of us, let’s use them as guideposts for the future, realizing they play a part in who we are today, facing a new future, from a new vantage point. 

Day 6

Q: How do we say I love you?

A: By making love from what we have.

We’ll let the artist behind the piece featured above, matt lambert, explain what we mean…

“Swimming in ideas of love, brokenness, mark making and use while listening to Dolly Parton’s version of silver dagger and somehow this came out.” (Shown here is a large heart pendant on a wooden chain.) “Made from an unbroken piece of wood. Carved initials possibly forthcoming (when it finds a home).”

We say I love you by making love from what we have. Opening doors for strangers, making dinner for a friend, standing up for change when the world is in despair, carving a necklace out of wood to share how we feel and offering it up to others that might feel the same. Trying to make “love” appear in our world. matt shared the below quote in the Instagram post where we initially discovered the piece featured above:

“Without love, our efforts to liberate ourselves and our world community from oppression and exploitation are doomed. As long as we refuse to address fully the place of love in struggles for liberation we will not be able to create a culture of conversion where there is a mass turning away from an ethic of domination.” –– Bell Hooks, “Love as the Practice of Freedom”

Day 7

Q: How do we say I love you?

A: By remembering we’re all connected. 

We like to think of jewelry as a facilitator: to honor those who loved before us, to recall our origin stories, to bring our ancestors into fresh light. It serves as a reminder of our common ground. On common ground we can move forward in understanding and respect of those around us. Because we are all connected. And that’s the where, how and why of love.

Picture above is a hand-carved ring by Brooklyn based artist & jeweler Soull Ogun of L’Enchanteur: “I feel like we be bringing Ancestors back (forward) to the realm…”

Day 8

Q: How do we say I love you?

A: However you choose. 

Shown below are A-M-O-R rings by Paola Vilas – perfect to say “I love you” however you choose. On Valentine’s Day or any day of the year.

Editorial written by NYC Jewelry Week Co-Founder JB Jones and Karen Davidov, Founder of The Jewelry Library. Images courtesy of the artists and jewelers credited above. Edited and formatted by JB Jones.

The Death of America’s Jeweler

In one swift move, Tiffany & Co. has transformed from the Queen of Alexandre Arnault’s chessboard to just another Pawn in the LVMH war chest. Could Tiffany’s latest partnership announcement signal the death of creativity within this illustrious jewelry firm?

Left: the Tiffany glasses in the quintessential Tiffany blue box. Right: Pharrell Williams sporting his pair of replica sunglasses at a Kenzo fashion show, January 2022.

The Glasses

This weekend Tiffany’s announced their “engagement” to celebrity Pharrell Williams. However, instead of proposing with their iconic six-prong ring, Tiffany’s christened their partnership with diamond-studded spectacles. Hand-crafted in 18-karat yellow gold and set with over 25 carats of diamonds and two emeralds, these sunglasses turned heads, but they weren’t all in Tiffany’s direction.

A Sotheby’s specialist holds the Astaneh-Ye Ferdaws emerald spectacles and the Halqeh-Ye Nur diamond spectacles, October 2021.
Image via Sotheby’s.

Those who weren’t fixated on Tiffany’s announcement were seeing double while reviewing a widely publicized Sotheby’s auction held in October of 2021, particularly Lot No. 213. Romantically named, The Astaneh-Ye Ferdaws (gates of paradise), these spectacles incarnate the Islamic association with the color green with that of paradise, salvation and eternity. Adding to their poetic beauty, the emerald lenses are purported to have belonged to Shah Jahan, the 17th-century Indian ruler who commissioned the Taj Mahal for his beloved late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. According to Professor Ebba Koch of the Art Institute of Vienna, the lenses possibly served the Shah in healing his extreme mental state of mourning over the loss of his wife, providing him with a glimpse of his future eternal paradisiacal life.

The Tiffany glasses.

The Controversy

Tiffany’s branded their version of the glasses as, “custom-designed,” but their true origin is indisputable. Adding insult to injury, at the time of this writing both Tiffany’s and Williams have neglected to publicly acknowledge, or educate, their 26+ million (combined) followers on the design’s source, and cultural significance. While the creator of the original spectacles is unknown and certainly no longer earthbound, it becomes our responsibility to determine if this concept is appropriate. Is it ethical to produce a near one-for-one copy of a historical artifact in pursuit of furthering a corporate agenda? Particularly an artifact rooted in spirituality and possibly a historical figure’s grief? 

Lot 213, The Astaneh-Ye Ferdaws (gates of paradise) spectacles. Image via Sotheby’s.

A Missed Opportunity

There could’ve been a better approach to this project. Why didn’t Tiffany’s, a company which thrives off of Americana and named partnerships take this opportunity to collaborate with another American icon like Ray-Ban? It seems like the perfect chance to model a pair of sunglasses off something that might be more synonymous with American celebrity and luxuries such as the Aviators or Wayfarers.

From Queen to Pawn

I think the answer to my aforementioned question lies in plain sight. The now infamous Tiffany spectacles were used to announce a partnership with Pharrell Williams, but where did this announcement take place? Not in New York, Tiffany’s hometown and epicenter for the past 185 years. But in Paris, home to the LVMH empire; and specifically at a Kenzo (another house within the LVMH holdings) fashion show where all eyes were on Creative Director Nigo’s debut collection.

Vice President of Tiffany’s, Alexandre Arnault with Pharrell Williams at a Rimowa event in L.A.

And just like that, Tiffany & Co., an American design institution for nearly 200 years, moves from Queen of the jewelry industry, to pawn of the conglomerate LVMH – pushed around the board to further a self-serving agenda designed to build and elevate its holdings’ reputations.

Is The Queen Dead?

We’ve (recently) been here before with Tiffany & Co. but it now appears to be a trend, and I have a feeling that our closely-knit industry will become tired of this continued game of corporate copycat. While I doubt the Tiffany name will ever cease to exist as a result of these actions, I can’t help but wonder something, “will creativity ever return to 610 5th Avenue?”

I certainly hope so. I have to say, it’s sad to see a company that was once synonymous with a unique expression and forward-thinking design engaged in the lowest form of creative production. The Queen may not be dead yet, but she’s certainly on life support.

Editorial written by Future Heirloom correspondent Nicholas Hyatt, excerpted from original publication on Hyatt’s website, Ping Pong Ring. Images provided by Nicholas Hyatt. Edited and formatted by Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews.

The Gold Standard

Jewelry by Tess Sholom Designs

The advent of social media and fast fashion has habituated many to view their wardrobe as temporary, ephemeral, eminently replaceable by the next trend. The largest clothing retailers today produce several hundred new designs every week. Globally, nearly 100 million tons of clothing is dumped into landfills each year, and, in the U.S. alone, annual clothing waste has doubled over the last twenty years. The short shelf life and low price of fashion today belies its hidden cost: a staggering amount of waste comprised of synthetic materials that can take over 200 years to decompose.

The jewelry designers featured in this photo series have rejected fast fashion’s dependence on disposability by creating collections with fine materials – high karat gold and precious stones – that are intended to last long past their lifecycle of Instagram likes. There is a price to doing business this way: each design is an investment in craftsmanship and costly materials, and sales come slowly as designers find their customers and build a loyal following. The photos in this series juxtapose plastics and other disposable materials with the designers’ fine jewelry to highlight their commitment to designs that last, and to a culture of fashion that is not turned so easily to waste.

Words and photos throughout by photographer and visionary Alain Simic.

Above: Kendra Pariseault, Below: Mon Pilar
Jewelry by Linda Hoj
Jewelry by i seira

Featured here: NYC Jewelry Week’s most recent photographic collaboration with photographer Alain Simic for NYCJW21. Featuring NYC based jewelers working in fine jewelry materials, we embrace the Power of Jewelry to impact our world and communities and salute those who dedicate their practice to slow jewelry.

Featured jewelers: Lorraine West Jewelry, Chee Lee Designs, Vasili, i seira, Kendra Pariseault, Linda Hoi, Tess Sholom Designs and Prounis.

Intro and photography by Alain Simic. Edited and compiled by JB Jones.

Photoshoot Credits:

Alain Simic – Photographer @alainsimic

Patricia Van Der Vliet – Model @patriciavdv

Evyta Soendoro – Makeup @eveyevesmakeup evytasoendoro.com

Jake Seitchik – Hair @jakeseitchik seitchik.com

Hide Suzuki- Prop Stylist @system7hide hidesuzuki.com

Natasha Digius – Producer @juinandolive

KIRU Smith – Assistant @highaski

The Power of Jewelry by Renu Choudhary of The Diamond Talk

If you’ve been following along here at FUTURE HEIRLOOM, you know we’re devoted to The Power of Jewelry. We’ve shared our take on the topic, and invited you to share yours, and today we welcome Renu Choudary of The Diamond Talk to share her insights as we kick off a little series featuring influencers, tastemakers, visionaries, educators and artists from around the world showing us the pieces of jewelry that represent what the Power of Jewelry means to them. We’ll let Renu take it from here.

“People will stare. Make it worth their while.” – Harry Winston

Since time immemorial, jewellery has always played a powerful role in enhancing one’s look and also as an extension to one’s personality. Some of the most memorable jewellery pieces for me are in the following categories. 

Natural diamonds: These unique, rare and natural gemstones which are formed a billion years back have always been a great source of inspiration to me, for they inspire me to be powerful, strong, resilient and to keep shining bright. Below are a few of my favourite natural diamond jewels which have empowered me.

Necklace by Jacob and Co.

From every angle this brilliant platinum necklace by Jacob and Co. necklace (shown above) sparkles with exceptional diamonds. In the centre is a 54-carat round drop diamond with remarkable brilliance. It takes centre stage for 24 round diamonds totaling 63 carats that line the entire neckline of this remarkable one-of-a-kind jewel. It made a star appearance on the red carpet of this year’s Met Gala, worn by the American model, Gigi Hadid. Here are a few more natural diamond favourites:


A Cartier Art Deco bracelet watch via Paul Fisher
Charlton Art Deco Bangle circa 1935 via Paul Fisher

Color serves as a powerful communication tool and have a great impact on our lives, as it can brighten our mood and add joy and happiness. Since ancient times gemstones are believed to have great significance in protecting the wearer with good health and bring prosperity and luck, on that note I would like to share a few of my favourite color gemstone jewels:

Sapphire Bracelets by Pratiek

Shown above: unheated natural sapphire bracelets by Pratiek. Striking a  perfect balance and harmony of colour with the rarest selection of sapphires in this stunning pair of bracelets. Below, a necklace by Margot McKinney featuring an extraordinary 153.33cts amethyst; is surrounded by “Margot Pave” and hung an amazing Australian baroque south sea pearl. This can be worn long or short and with or without the pearl.

Necklace by Margot McKinney

Throughout centuries, pearls have been an epitome of royalty and grace, a simple string of pearls can do wonders! See below a multi-colour natural pearl choker called the Pearl Butterfly followed by a green feathers brooch studded with natural pearls both by Matter Jewels.

Pearl Butterfly Necklace by Matter Jewels
Brooch with green feathers and natural pearls by Matter Jewels

And a few favourites from Assael below. First up a golden South Sea pearl with turquoise: the golden/woody veining in this special turquoise was calling out for golden pearls. The combination is as natural as turquoise with yellow gold, but with luster and volume! Both materials are natural in color.

South Sea pearl and turquoise ring and necklace from Assael.

Below left is a chalcedony and South Sea baroque earrings by Assael – both the chalcedony and baroque South Sea pearls are organic in shape, but the surfaces play off each other… luster versus translucence. They are large, about 22 mm in length, horizontally, and set in platinum.

And finally, below right, a South Sea pearl and emerald-cut diamond ring also by Assael. Diamond with pearl is a classic combination of gems, and it is feeling fresh and even more desirable now. The Natural Diamond Council recently named this combination as one of the most important trends. Assael’s 3.08 ct emerald-cut diamond with a super gem quality 11.2 mm round South Sea pearl is simple, modern and luxurious in its voluptuous platinum mounting. 

Pearl earrings and ring by Assael

Renu Choudhary is a Gem & Jewelry consultant based out of Mumbai. She is a 4th generation jewelry enthusiast and a Gemological Institute of America (New York) Diamond Graduate. Renu comes to the jewelry industry-backed by both experience from a generations-old diamond business and a strong influence from her ancestral city, Jaipur’s rich heritage of exceptional gems and exquisite craftsmanship.

She launched her blog The Diamond Talk in 2018 with the intention to promote the Gem & Jewelry Industry on a digital platform. Over the years, she has had the opportunity of jurying prestigious jewelery design awards, visiting multiple trade shows, traveling to the De Beers Diamonds Mines in Botswana, and being a guest speaker at numerous jewelry related seminars and events.

“I strongly believe in curating informative, valuable, and educative content for my global digital family.” With that belief in mind, Renu currently hosts a series of Instagram Live conversations with renowned designers and jewelry and auction houses from across the globe as she continues her mission with The Diamond Talk. Follow her @thediamondtalk.

Thank you, Renu, for sharing your favorite “power” jewels. Follow @nycjewelryweek for more from this series of influential jewelry voices sharing influential and powerful jewelry in their lives.

Written by Renu Choudhary; edited and introduced by JB Jones. Images provided by Renu Choudhary.

On Being Unapologetically You: Fifi the Queer Icon

by Jackie Andrews

Last week, Future Heirloom Editor Jackie Andrews introduced our new platform in our first Letter From The Editor. This week, you’ll get to know Jackie through the lens of their childhood alter-ego, Fifi, and learn about how this colorful childhood character has influenced their fashion sense and penchant for dramatic accessories, their career, and most importantly, who they are today. Get out your feather boas and get ready to play dress-up.

I was born a maximalist. From a very young age, I loved playing dress up, and I always gleefully piled on as many scarves, feather boas, jewelry, tiaras, and sparkly hats as I could—typically several at once. The concept of moderation was completely lost on me. In my toddler years, I would put together these maximal ensembles, and demand to be my older sister’s hairstylist. Over time, this particular persona of mine was dubbed “Fifi” by my mother, and even today is still cited as one of her favorite memories of my childhood self. Fifi is immortalized in a frame in my parents living room, but has spent the better part of the past two decades of my life relegated to a distant memory, dormant in the recesses of my mind.

Fifi was more a part of me than I knew. Echoes of their unapologetic, fabulous flair are a common thread in so many of my fashion phases, large and small. There was one year in elementary school that was defined by a large collection of oversized silk flower brooches and hairclips (think a slightly more restrained clown flower), in every color of the rainbow and a variety of shades that were paired, without fail, with every outfit I wore. In middle school I discovered my mom’s collection of richly patterned silk scarves from her years of working in Manhattan, and I enthusiastically styled them as ascots or belts on a daily basis (admittedly with mixed success). In high school I sewed my old Girl Scout patches all over a pair of jeans, which then spilled over onto a jean jacket; I didn’t hesitate to wear them together, Canadian-tuxedo style, and I even hung the pants in my AP art show senior year. I wore all-over patterns and power-clashed well before it was cool, had a lipstick shade for every occasion, doodled on my face with eyeliner, and used Vaseline to glitter my eyebrows. Fifi watched over every one of these sartorial decisions like a fairy godparent, even when I didn’t recognize them there.


I came out a little over four years ago, and have undergone many evolutions of self in that time; I’m sure many more are to come. But one thing is certain: my quintessential style spoke for me even when I didn’t have the language to describe the way I experienced the world, and that instinct has only gotten stronger in me. On any given day, you can find me wearing “too many” types of floral patterns at once, layering my growing collection of sequined garments together, donning platform sneakers in neons and patterns, and accessorizing with abandon. (Most notably, frequently following my own self-imposed rule of looking in the mirror and then putting on at least two additional pieces of jewelry.) These instincts were paralleled in my studio practice as well: as I progressed through art school, glitter and sequins became an increasingly important material in my work, despite (and indignantly, in spite of) the disdain the art world historically has had for it. That inclination toward glitter-encrusted surfaces was always something that my inner child called out for, and I finally learned how to listen.

As my work and my wardrobe got increasingly bold and outspokenly queer, my list of style icons did as well, including people like Harris Reed, Demi Lovato, Alok Vaid-Menon, Sam Smith, Billy Porter, Iris Apfel, ABBA, and of course—Elton John. In recent years, I’ve also had the honor of being told on more than one occasion that I had the vibe of a “lesbian Elton John,” a high compliment that I will surely wear as a badge of honor for decades to come—it might even make an appearance on my gravestone. But a couple months ago, something within me inexplicably brought Fifi to the forefront of my mind. 

It suddenly became very clear to me that while all of these experiences and role models had certainly shaped me, my true queer icon has always been Fifi. Discovering my true self and learning to embrace my identity fully has meant years of slowly returning to that unapologetic, young self. Fifi would certainly admire the person I am today, and I’m lucky that I’m finding my way back to that inner child, one head-to-toe sequin ‘fit at a time.

Written and illustrated by Jackie Andrews.
Illustrated using images of Fifi and Jackie Andrews throughout childhood and adolescence, wearing many of the garments and accessories mentioned above.