Here, AnOther presents an exclusive look at Milanese jewellery brand Pomellato's campaign archive shot by photographers Helmut Newton and Javier Valhonrat and featuring personalities such as Catherine Deneuve...
Campaigns are briliant markers of time. From Calvin Klein's iconic monochrome ads featuring Kate Moss in the 90s to Marc Jacobs' Victoria Beckham in a paper carrier bag in the 00s, they each represent the mood of the moment. Here, AnOther presents an exclusive look at Milanese jewellery brand Pomellato's campaign archive shot by photographers Helmut Newton and Javier Valhonrat and featuring personalities such as Catherine Deneuve, Isabella Rossellini, Boy George, Sofia Loren and Tilda Swinton.
Pomellato was founded by Pino Rabolini in Milan in 1967, and introduced the concept of prêt-à-porter jewellery – the idea that jewellery that can be worn at any moment of the day rather than a status symbol. In the 90s, the brand particularly focused on using “coloured stones" and became recognised for an emphasis on rounded and tactile forms. The Pomellato campaigns of the 1960s were entrusted to Franco Scheichenbauer and in 1971, Pomellato started working with the master of black-and-white photography, Gian Paolo Barbieri. From 1982 to 1984, the campaigns were signed by Helmut Newton. Barbieri returned in 1988 and 1989, in charge of traditional advertising campaigns and also broader projects including the books The Maps of Desire, 1989 and the more recent Innatural of 2004, where the jewellery was photographed in tropical settings. The 1990s saw a succession of photographers like Alistair Taylor Young, Lord Snowdon and Javier Vallhonrat. In 2001, Pomellato departed from black-and-white photography to embrace colour with the work of Michel Comte. After Paolo Roversi, author of the 2010 campaign, 2011 saw the comeback of Javier Vallhonrat, portraying the Pomellato’s celebrity spokeswoman, Tilda Swinton, in the campaign of the maison.
Text by Laura Bradley
