Recently, Balenciaga held its Spring 2025 collection show in Shanghai, where the most eye-catching item was surprisingly a simple T-shirt. Apart from the prominent Balenciaga logo on the chest, it featured another familiar symbol from everyday life – Alipay.
To make this collaboration T-shirt seem more accessible, Balenciaga’s official website thoughtfully noted that “this product supports Huabei installment payments.”
As one of the brands known for its ability to “stir things up,” Balenciaga consistently finds inspiration in unexpected products. In addition to the Alipay collaboration T-shirt, they also introduced a shoebox bag. Going back further to their Spring/Summer 2023 show, they unveiled a “Lay’s Chips” bag, recreating the snack packaging in leather.
These innovative attempts reflect the designers’ creativity and unique brand language, leading fashion trends while embodying Balenciaga’s brand spirit of encouraging self-expression through clothing.
The vitality of design lies in constant breakthroughs and creations. In the jewelry field, artists and designers are also engaging in cross-boundary exploration and creation. These cross-boundary designs have played out new tricks, breaking dimensional barriers and surpassing your imagination.
In July 2023, LVMH Group officially announced its role as a premium sponsor for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Its jewelry brand Chaumet was tasked with designing the medals for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This marks the first time in 128 years of modern Olympic history that a jewelry brand has been commissioned to design Olympic medals.
Chaumet’s design for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic medals cleverly combines Parisian scenery, sporting spirit, and jewelry craftsmanship. The obverse of the round medal draws inspiration from the rivet pattern on the Eiffel Tower, using the iconic “Clous de Paris” technique to embed hexagonal iron blocks in the center of the medal, engraved with the Olympic and Paralympic emblems.
The reverse side depicts Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, running in the Panathenaic Stadium where the first modern Olympics were held in Athens. Behind her are the Acropolis and the Eiffel Tower, ingeniously merging the ancient Greek Olympics, the French origins of the modern Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It can be said that the Eiffel Tower elements are hidden in every detail of these medals. The obverse of the medal borrows the rivet pattern from the Eiffel Tower, with the embedded hexagonal iron blocks being original pieces preserved from the tower’s renovation. The cross pattern decorating the medal ribbon also comes from the Eiffel Tower.
The combination of the Eiffel Tower, representing the pride and resilience of the French people, with the Olympics not only expresses the Olympic spirit of “Faster, Higher, Stronger,” but also embodies the determination and courage of every athlete striving for their dreams.
In recent years, major jewelry brands have been successfully engaging in cross-boundary collaborations, incorporating classic elements from popular IPs into jewelry design. This approach breaks design boundaries while injecting new vitality, transforming jewelry from mere decorative items into carriers of emotion and culture.
The recent return of the fourth season of “National Treasure” has once again ignited a cultural trend. The Palace Museum, along with eight other cultural institutions, showcased more precious national treasures. Chow Sang Sang collaborated with “National Treasure” IP, designing pieces inspired by the national treasures in the Palace Museum.
This approach showcases the beauty of cultural relics from a jewelry perspective, allowing more people to appreciate the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture.
Jewelry designer Long Zijia’s collaboration with the Dunhuang Museum, inspired by cave murals, recreates the vibrant colors that even a thousand years of dust couldn’t obscure, showcasing Dunhuang culture.
The Flying Apsara Pipa series combines traditional woodcarving with mother-of-pearl. The Precious Flower series extracts classic color schemes from Dunhuang murals, setting gemstones of matching colors to fully display Eastern elegance. The Layered Ring Pattern Sapphire Ring combines traditional Chinese patterns from Dunhuang caves with chasing and enameling techniques, creating captivating flowing lines and brilliant colors that transform Dunhuang’s unique beauty into jewelry language.
Beyond cultural heritage collaborations, there are also familiar anime and film IP collaborations. Chow Tai Fook, known for its IP collaborations, continuously launches trendy and well-designed products.
From Disney, Detective Conan, and Ultraman to Crayon Shin-chan series, their creative designs have mastered the “traffic code,” attracting more young people and subtly changing the new generation’s impression of gold jewelry.
During the Renaissance, scientists, poets, philosophers, and painters gathered in Florence, learning from each other and breaking down barriers between disciplines and cultures, sparking unprecedented creativity.
Now, with the deepening of globalization, artists from different cultures and fields are crossing boundaries in jewelry design, integrating their professional knowledge and unique perspectives. This cross-boundary collaboration breaks the limitations of traditional jewelry design, no longer confined to traditional forms and materials, bringing new perspectives and inspiration.
Salvador Dalí, one of the “three most representative painters of the 20th century” alongside Picasso and Matisse, ventured into jewelry design with his unique artistic perspective. His jewelry designs, like his paintings, resemble a magnificent carnival feast, delivering stunning beauty.
Dalí didn’t confine himself to conventional jewelry design; the value of his works lies not in expensive gold and gemstones, but in ingenious design and boundless imagination that transcends the ordinary.
Pharrell Williams, known primarily as a singer, has influence that extends beyond music into the fashion world. He continuously breaks boundaries and challenges traditions, effortlessly blending streetwear with haute couture.
His collaboration with Tiffany & Co. on the Tiffany Titan series draws inspiration from Poseidon’s trident in Greek mythology, combining angular spear-like elements with smooth chain-link designs. The series employs an innovative inverted setting technique, placing the diamond’s pointed bottom outward to maximize brilliance.
Architect Zaha Hadid left an indelible mark on world architectural history with her unique design concepts and exceptional architectural talent. Her works not only possess high artistic value but also demonstrate the unlimited potential of female architects in the industry.
While you may not recognize her name, you’ve likely seen her designs, including Galaxy SOHO in Beijing’s Chaoyangmen and the Nanjing Youth Olympic Center. Sharp-angled spires and flowing, scarf-like long arcs create unprecedented visual impact.
When this architectural master crossed into jewelry design, the result was equally spectacular. Zaha Hadid’s collaboration with Danish jewelry brand Georg Jensen produced a series made of pure silver and black rhodium set with black diamonds.
The three-dimensional shapes and curves adhere to Zaha’s characteristic open structure design philosophy, full of her boundless imagination and beloved flowing arched lines.
The term “cross-boundary” is no longer unfamiliar, from clothing and bags to limited-edition sneakers and jewelry accessories, each collaboration sparks a fashion trend. Cross-boundary collaborations in the jewelry world are becoming increasingly diverse and innovative.
Whether it’s collaborations with IPs or fusions with cultural and artistic fields, these partnerships bring more inspiration and possibilities to jewelry design.
Do you know of any other cross-boundary jewelry collaborations? Share your thoughts with us!
From Alipay to Olympic Medals: Unexpected Collaborations Shaking Up the Fashion and Jewelry World
Tweet
