PARIS — You only turn 100 once, so Cartier is continuing the celebrations of Trinity’s centenary with the reveal of a star-studded cast for its upcoming campaign on Tuesday.
This anniversary is “an extraordinary opportunity for us to celebrate love, all forms of love — friendship, family, fidelity,” said Arnaud Carrez, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Cartier International, calling Trinity “a messenger of emotions and diversity.”
“We design beautiful objects with no preconceived idea of who is going to wear what,” the executive continued, pointing to the ongoing success of the three-ring design imagined by Louis Cartier in 1924.
To do justice to a “most universal and transgenerational collection” that is integral to its “cultural and emotional heritage,” the French jeweler called on Blackpink’s Jisoo; American actress Yara Shahidi; Irish actor Paul Mescal; rapper and member of South Korean band Got7 Jackson Wang, and musical artist Labrinth, who also signed the soundtrack of the campaign’s film.
The quintet tapped by Cartier “expresses this diversity that Trinity embodies,” the executive said. “They are all Cartier ambassadors, they have strong characters, quite different personalities. They are also young, and this was one of the intentions for a collection that has existed for 100 years.”
Jisoo said she was “truly honored to be part of the grand journey” of the campaign, since “the meaning of Trinity — love, friendship, fidelity — strongly attaches to what I value the most in life.”
“I wish [for] everyone who sees the campaign to perceive and feel the brilliance of time and strength of Trinity,” she told WWD exclusively.
Although they did not know each other formally prior to filming in October, London-based Labrinth said the experience of “joining diverse worlds and creating exchanges and beautiful memories that bond us for life” during filming was both in line with his perception of Trinity but reinforced the parallel between his passion for music and Cartier’s love of its crafts.
“This campaign was about connection with others and originality,” reflecting the “founding creativity” of the jeweler, added Mescal.
Shahidi said she perceived the collection’s intention of “fostering connectivity while celebrating our differences,” adding that she was “grateful to celebrate these qualities alongside [her] Cartier family.”
As for Wang, he felt that “Trinity’s universality means everyone has a way to connect to it on a deeper level.”
The cushion-shaped Cartier Trinity and the puzzle version that can be rearranged into pavé.
Courtesy of Cartier
That universality is one of the foundations of the Trinity line, according to Cartier image, style and heritage director Pierre Rainero. “It had extreme modernity because it could be worn by both men and women, a point of [difference] of Cartier,” he said. “It shows how we work for the sake of a beautiful object but also how the idea that beauty has no gender came very early in our history.”
After its print debut on March 15, the campaign will appear on billboards from April 1. Digital will follow on April 3 with the reveal of the full campaign film.
Carrez described the result as “the right level of emotion and authenticity” thanks to an ensemble cast that “played together and connected to one another in an authentic way, making the overall atmosphere light and rather accessible.”
Celebration kicked off last week in New York with a dinner at the Hotel Chelsea with global ambassador Shahidi; continued in London on Monday with another one at Ladbrook Hall attended by Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones and “Saltburn” start Archie Madekwe, and will conclude in Paris with a two-day event kicking off Tuesday.
But Trinity won’t be anywhere near done with marking the occasion, Carrez revealed.
Some 100 artists, ranging from photographers and painters to filmmakers have been given carte blanche to interpret Trinity and the bonds of love. The resulting artworks will be presented in key cities around the world with details yet to be revealed.
“When we celebrate Trinity, we celebrate culture because love is one of the key pillars of culture,” said the jewelry executive. “It’s a universal icon that transcends all frontiers so that’s what we want to convey.”
– With contributions from Thomas Waller and Tianwei Zhang.