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Picasso, Paloma

(1949-)
Lopez–Cambil Ltd.

Overview

Paloma Picasso, the daughter of the legendary Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, has achieved her own renown as an internationally famous jewelry designer. She also achieved success on a global scale with a line of cosmetics and a multi–million–dollar accessories company. Befitting the progeny of a famous artist, Picasso possessed abundant visual flair, evident in the design of her jewelry, which is noted for its distinctive shapes and color combinations. Her social skills, artistic talents, and professional savvy helped establish a long–standing professional relationship with Tiffany & Company, which introduced her first exclusive collection of jewelry in 1980. Picasso's success in jewelry design resulted in her expansion into cosmetics, fashion accessories, and china. Her designs have been sold all over the world and include eyewear, cosmetics, and leather goods. Picasso's personal visual stamp can even be found in the packaging and advertising of her products.

Personal Life

Paloma Picasso was born in Paris, France, on April 19, 1949, to Pablo Picasso and Francoise Gilot. Her father was the world famous Spanish painter best known for developing the "cubist" style, and her mother was a French artist and writer. She is represented in many of her father's works, including Paloma with an Orange.

Pablo Picasso and Gilot were 61 and 21, respectively, when they first met. The couple lived together for ten years but never married, as Pablo Picasso was prohibited by Spanish law from divorcing his first wife. He and Gilot had two children together, Paloma and her older brother Claude. In 1961 Picasso legitimized his children's status by legally giving them his name.

Paloma, the Spanish word for "Dove," grew up in Paris and the south of France among artists and intellectuals. She never received any formal instruction in painting from her artistic parents, but was encouraged by them to draw. Rather than setting out on a career path similar to her parents, she first chose to express her own artistic instincts in the way she presented herself. When she was a teenager, she became known in Paris for the personal look she created by matching flea–market finds with designer clothes items. During this period, she became friends with influential people like designer Yves St. Laurent and John Loring, of Tiffany & Company.

Still, Paloma put aside any notions of an artistic career, fearful that her efforts would always be measured against the output of her famous father. However, after graduating from the Université de Paris in Nanterre, she became a theatrical costumer and stylist for a Parisian theater production company. Some of her creations, particularly rhinestone jewelry, caught the eye of appreciative critics. Encouraged by the attention, she began formal schooling in jewelry design and fabrication.

In 1969 she presented her first efforts to St. Laurent. Her work so impressed him that he commissioned her to design a collection of jewelry to go with his fashions. When Pablo Picasso died in 1973, Paloma temporarily lost all interest in designing. She put her career on hold to catalogue and authenticate her father's large estate. This proved an especially difficult task, as her father had left no will and lawsuits were filed for shares of the estate, which was valued at $250 million. Paloma's eventual share was estimated to be close to $90 million. At this time, she also helped the French government establish the Musée Picasso in Paris, which opened in 1983.

In the mid–1970s she met Rafael Lopez–Cambil, an Argentine playwright and director whose work she admired. She began to work with him, designing costumes and sets for two of his Parisian stage productions. The relationship went from professional to personal, and the two were married in 1978. Their wedding ceremony was described as an event, as Picasso wore a St. Laurent design that featured her trademark red, white, and black, and the reception was held in a disco. After the marriage, Lopez–Cambil left the theater and became Picasso's business partner.

Two decades later, in 1999, Picasso divorced Lopez–Cambil. At the time, annual sales of their fashion and perfume products were estimated at $825 million. Picasso told Women's Wear Daily that she had to turn over a $100 million because she had unwisely attributed much of her company's success to her husband. In May of that year she wed French gynecologist Eric Thevenet. In January 2001 the couple moved to Switzerland, settling in the Lake Geneva region. There she established the Paloma Picasso Foundation to promote the works of her parents, especially her mother's, of whose work very little was known in Europe.

In 1988 Picasso won the MODA Award for design excellence from The Hispanic Designers, Inc. She was also honored that year by The Fashion Group as one of the "Women Who Have Made an Extraordinary Impact on our Industry." Additionally, she was inducted into The Hall of Fame International Best Dressed List. Her works are featured in the permanent collections of two United States museums. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History displays a 396.3–carat kunzite necklace that she created. Adorned with diamond "lightning bolts", her 408.63–carat moonstone bracelet is housed at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Career Details

Like many people born to a world–famous parent, Paloma Picasso was always determined to make it on her own. She never wanted to use her father's name or her inheritance to further her career. As a result, she demanded much of herself. Ultimately, she would harness her own natural creativity toward success in a number of diverse professional and artistic activities.

Picasso's talents for jewelry design first became evident when she worked as a stage designer assistant for a Paris theater company. Her skills attracted notice when she was asked to find a necklace for a leading lady. Displaying an artistic resourcefulness, she turned some Folies Bergere rhinestones into a remarkable choker. Soon after, St. Laurent helped her launch her career when he commissioned her to design fashion jewelry for sale in his Rive Gauche boutique. Energized by the opportunity, she developed her skills further and, in 1971, designed gold jewelry for the House of Zolotas. Again, critics were impressed, and her reputation began to grow.

Her career took a brief sidetrack, however, in the early 1970s after her father died. In 1974, during the period when she had temporarily given up on designing, Picasso acted in Immoral Tales (Contes Immorreaux), directed by Walerian Borowczyk. The movie was lauded by critics and won the coveted Prix de l'Age d'Or. Picasso earned praise for her performance as an evil Hungarian countess with unusual desires. But it has been her only foray into the acting profession, even though she said she enjoyed the experience and would like to star in a film about legendary French fashion designer Coco Chanel. After her marriage to Lopez–Cambil, Picasso resumed her designing career in earnest, paving the way for her most significant achievements.

In 1979 she began her long–standing association with Tiffany & Company when the firm's design director, John Loring, invited her to present a table setting for an exhibition. She was excited about the opportunity, as she had always wanted to design for an American store. Her jeweled creation, titled the End of Summer, featured a silver ribbon and a mushroom–shaped cake. The setting received good notices, and Tiffany asked Picasso to create jewelry for the company. The next year Tiffany unveiled Picasso's first exclusive collection of jewelry. Her works were applauded for their imagination, innovation, boldness, and use of brilliant color contrasts, and it is generally acknowledged that she redesigned the direction of modern fine jewelry design. Characteristic pieces included chunky necklaces of marble–sized gemstones, sculptured bracelets, and a fan ring that spread over three fingers. She also produced the oft–copied and extremely popular "hugs and kisses" jewelry that featured Xs and Os in gold and silver on pins, bracelets, and necklaces. Picasso's pieces ranged in price from $100 to $500 thousand.

Picasso ventured into the cosmetics field in 1984, when she and Lopez–Cambil produced a fragrance named Paloma Picasso. Picasso's decision to produce her own fragrance was somewhat appropriate, as her maternal grandfather, Emile Gilot, was a chemist and perfume manufacturer in Grasse, France. Picasso recalled how, as a child, she was fascinated by her grandfather's workshop as well as the art of perfumery itself. She described the fragrance as a "jewelry for the senses." The fragrance itself was a blend of florals and amber. The success of the perfume, which was produced by L'Oreal and was priced at over $150 an ounce, encouraged Picasso to expand her collection to include lipstick, called Mon Rouge. The cosmetic's distinctive red color became closely associated with Picasso's own visual style, and it came to be called "Paloma red." Picasso even designed the red–and–black packaging for the product.

Further energized by the success of their joint ventures, the husband–and–wife team expanded its efforts into fashion accessories. In 1987 they founded a New York City–based company, Lopez–Cambil Ltd., to produce and distribute imported designer handbags, belts, umbrellas, and small leather goods. The company had offices and a showroom in New York City, and the products were manufactured in Italy. The collection, called Couture accessories, became known for its high quality and artistic design. The pieces were described as simple and understated, with a playful splash of color. The leather handbags were sleek and angular with bracelet–style handles, and they were tastefully studded with gems. In 1990 this venture was followed up by a less expensive line of accessories called By Paloma Picasso, which made Picasso's work available to a much larger market.

In 1990, Picasso also introduced an anniversary collection to commemorate ten years of designing jewelry exclusively for Tiffany & Company. The extraordinary collection featured necklaces mounted with some of the world's rarest and most beautiful gemstones and, again, her work was praised for its innovation.

Picasso continued to expand into new collections. In 1989 she branched into the home furnishings market when she designed china for Villeroy & Boch, creating porcelain and ceramic place settings and tiles. Three years later she and Lopez–Cambil entered the world of men's cosmetics with the launch of the successful Minotaure fragrance line. For this product, Picasso put her design talents toward the bottle and packaging, while her husband developed the concept, the name, and mounted the advertising campaign.

Social and Economic Impact

Throughout her life, Paloma Picasso has been a trendsetter in the world of design. The rich variety of Picasso's output is available all over the world. There are Paloma Picasso boutiques in Japan and Hong Kong, and her accessories are available throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East. In Europe, her creations include cosmetics and fragrances for L'Oreal in France, and sunglasses and optical frames in Germany. She also creates hosiery for Grupo Synkro in Mexico, and bed ensembles, towels, bathrobes, and dressing gowns for KBC in Germany.

Sources of Information

Contact at: Lopez–Cambil Ltd.
37 W. 57th St.
New York, New York 10019

Bibliography

"Celebrities in Switzerland: Paloma Picasso." Switzerland.isyours.com, 2000. Available at http://switzerland.isyours.com.

Johnes, Baird. "Celebrity Art." artnet.com, 5 May 1999. Available at http://www.artnet.com.

McGee, Kimberley. "Paloma: Picasso's Daughter Uses Jewels As Her Medium." Las Vegas Sun, 5 September 2001.

"Paloma Picasso." Ciao–magazine.com, 23 August 1999. Available at http://www.ciao-magazine.com.

"Paloma Picasso." GreatWomen.com, 2001. Available at http://www.bee-trader.com/ipp/women/picasso.html.

Przybys, John. "The 'Other' Picasso: Painter's Daughter Creates Her Own Artistry in Jewelry to be Displayed at Tiffany's." Las Vegas Review–Journal, 30 August 2001.