Inside Gareth Pugh’s ‘Weapon’-Like New Jewellery Collaboration

Gareth Pugh’s relationship with Chrome Hearts is some ten years strong now – winding all the way back to when samples from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection of his namesake label “were given a little pimp-up” by the Los Angeles-based luxury brand. Introduced to Richard and Laurie Lynn Stark by Michèle Lamy, the Chrome Hearts founders’ yin-and-yang design relationship immediately struck a familiar chord with Pugh. “They remind me of myself and my husband [Carson McColl],” he laughs. “Very, very different people but together as a team, they work really well together.” It’s this deep resonance which brings to life the recently released Chrome Hearts x Gareth Pugh jewellery collection: a fantastical yet fluent synthesis of two very different creative universes.

The collection has been in the works since 2016. “Nothing really has a season for them, there’s no immediate rush to get anything out,” says Pugh of the rigour and patience underpinning Chrome Heart’s lengthy design process. Unlike their initial collaboration, which used Pugh’s already-made pieces as their starting point, the jewellery line is a clean meeting of their respective aesthetics. “You know your wheelhouse, you can appreciate somebody else’s, but it’s a very different thing bringing those together on a blank slate,” reflects the designer. “That being said, I was incredibly blown away by how willing they were to really push what their aesthetic was.” It was never about Pugh folding to fit the Chrome Heart’s mould; rather, they shared their established craftsmanship to allow him to create something that felt true to what he does. “I think, as well, that the geographical distance allowed us to take the time and space to create something that has both of us in it,” he adds.

Chrome Hearts is perhaps best known for its chains – and Pugh saw the signature piece as “the simplest line from A to B” to unify their two aesthetics. Using a solid cube, faceted like an emerald and then split apart to interlock, as the literal starting block, “we were able to make lots of different parts of the collection,” he explains. “Starting with the chain and then onto bangles, pendants, rings, it became about reinventing the cube in a way, with regards to our visual approach.” If the Chrome Hearts’ aesthetic is typically heavily embellished and creviced with black polish, Pugh took a different route. “We stripped off all of the bells and whistles, to do something really slick and modern,” he says, “Richard [Stark] was telling me it’s one of the most challenging technical things they’ve had to do because of the cleanliness of the look.” (Although, true to their brand ethos, Chrome Hearts are currently developing diamond-encrusted iterations of each design).

Pugh’s most cherished piece of the collection is a tiny leaved orb pendant that peels out to reveal hand-engraved symbols relating to both him and Chrome Hearts. “It’s based on Masonic jewellery, with all the hidden compartments,” he explains. “There is, for example, a tuning fork because Chrome Hearts has a huge link with music, and at the centre is a print from my first collection.” With its minuscule design and detailing, the orb is very much the heart of their creative collaboration.

The collection is animated by an explosive photo and video campaign shot by Ruth Hogben, another longtime collaborator of Pugh’s. “The idea we had was London meets Hollywood – a difficult juxtaposition of these two mad cities,” he explains of their vision. “Think Keith from The Prodigy meets Marilyn Monroe.” In keeping with Pugh’s love for ballroom, the face of the campaign is Tanatswa, a star of the London scene, who they “dressed like our version of a modern Marilyn.” For the soundtrack, they worked with Roly Porter, who composed a sharp score starting with Prodigy’s Firestarter and transitioning into even harder beats. “It was about trying to offer up something that felt quite hard-edged, like the jewels itself,” says Pugh. “Some of the chains are so big, so hefty, they feel a bit more like weapons.”

After years of collaboration, the jewellery line feels like a natural consolidation of Pugh and Chrome Heart’s relationship: a concrete harmony of their two different visions, a tangible potential of their creative partnership. “There’s a whole other side of the collection that we’ve held back on for the time being,” says Pugh. “Like I said, we like to take our time with things, and the next part will happen when the time is right.”

Director: Ruth Hogben. Model: Tanatswa Money. Featuring: Gareth Pugh for Chrome Hearts. Production: Groupthrpy. Executive producer: Min Soo Elle Kim @siouxelle. Managing partner: Shelby Ros. Producer: Alessia Lendrum. Producer: Lily Ashton. Director’s assistant: Danielle Adams. First AC: Nacho Guzman. Gaffer: Robin Brigham. Live vision mixing: Felipe Narvaez. Electricians: Jim Agnew and James Owens. Hair stylist: Issac Poleon at CLM. Assistant hair stylist: Muriel Cole. Make-up artist Dominic Skinner at M.A.C. Make-up assistant: Amy Jackson. Hard & Shiny Studio: @garethpughstudio.