To celebrate the launch of its new T jewelry collection—the debut assemblage by newly appointed design director Francesca Amfitheatrof—iconic New York jeweler Tiffany & Company sought inspiration from its own urban backyard: the subway. And in early November, the brand debuted the Tiffany T Train in the city.
Looking to fashion an enchanting and immersive experience targeted at a new generation of female clientele, Tiffany & Company turned to creative marketing agency Sid Lee New York, which worked alongside event production firm Fake Love. The team wanted something that, according to Sid Lee co-executive creative director Daniel Chandler, “spoke to the young, stylish Tiffany T woman at home both downtown in SoHo and uptown on the Upper East Side.”
As luck would have it, Manhattan’s newest train line is not only designated the “T line” (more widely referred to as the Second Avenue Subway) but also bears a planned color of turquoise—close enough to parallel the jeweler’s robin’s egg shade of blue. Chandler’s team capitalized on that—not to mention the train’s north-south route along the east side—as it worked with Fake Love to bring the Tiffany T train to fruition. “Tiffany liked the uptown-downtown connection as a metaphor for this young, mobile female,” Chandler said. “It became something more symbolic of mobility than anything too literal. It was quite fortuitous.”
However, with the brand immortalized in cinematic history by Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the activation needed to far surpass a simple tin box. Utilizing some 8,000 square feet of space in the vast Dia:Chelsea gallery space in west Chelsea, the organizers erected a sleek and streamlined train car made out of lacquered plywood. The structure was built in New Jersey and assembled on site in 12 hours, in time for the November 6 V.I.P. opening and subsequent two-day public viewing.
“We had to create something special, scarce, and rare,” said Layne Braunstein, co-founder and executive creative director of Fake Love, who, together with Sid Lee’s Chandler, reported to Laura Ingrassia, Tiffany & Company’s director of public relations. “Together we designed a sort of surreal art installation to serve as the environment for a one-night special event that transforms into a weekend-long retail experience.”
It was both firms’ first time working with the jewelry brand.
From the retiled entryway and concierge station to the sound design, dramatic lighting, and vintage-inspired decor, every angle of the space was designed to be captured by Instagram-happy visitors. Playing off this, guests were encouraged to use the #MyTiffanyT hashtag to receive physical prints of their photos just outside the train. The band Puddles Pity Party and DJ Harley Viera-Newton entertained the 200 invited guests on the preview night.
“The space is a beautiful, premium space and [has] the sheer scale to be able to house a train, which was surprisingly hard to find in New York,” said Chandler. Dia:Chelsea was also in between exhibitions, so no art needed to be moved.
According to Chandler, initial project discussions began in July and, aside from purposefully not wanting to oversaturate the venue with the signature Tiffany blue, the activation was meant to be as much an installation as it was a saleable pop-up. “We wanted to push the concept to create something truly memorable and surprising,” said Chandler.
The event took about 10 hours to strike; the train is currently in storage and may soon be making another public appearance.
