- I didn't see anyone that looked like me pretty much.
So that's why I definitely thought
that we should start the brand just to show other people
there's a different perspective out there.
(slow jazz music)
- The jewelry business is a fascinating aspect
of the fashion industry.
Looking at the American market,
jewelry has traditionally been marketed
towards female identifying consumers.
When it comes to mass market,
the immediate touch points that come to mind
are teens getting their first piercings at Claire's,
moms buying up Pandora charms,
and young men saving two months' salary
for that engagement ring.
And while those scenarios
are still very much alive and well,
there's a growing cultural awareness
questioning why we even need
to fit into these gender binaries.
This week, I'm speaking with Kristin and Kofi Essel,
the husband and wife duo
behind the Brooklyn based brand, Third Crown,
known for minimalist geometric designs that anyone can wear.
- So I'm Kristin.
- And I'm Kofi.
- We design gender neutral contemporary jewelry.
- What is it like working with your partner?
- It's amazing. (Kristin chuckles)
At the end of the day,
our driving force is creating something beautiful.
So the rallying point is the brand.
- Can you tell us how Third Crown came about?
- I was looking for jewelry a couple of years ago.
Kristin was interning at David Yurman
but I couldn't really afford that.
- You couldn't afford David Yurman?
(Kofi laughs then all laugh)
- Exactly.
And Kristin decided to hand wrap a rosary for me
from the jewelry experience that she had
and got a lot of compliments.
People were asking me where they could get it from.
So we thought about it for some time.
And then we decided to actually start the business.
- Kristin, what was your background in jewelry?
- At David Yurman, I interned in his design studios
and then from there I went to Reed Krakoff.
And then from there I went to Eddie Borgo.
- Both the throwbacks.
- Oh yeah.
(all laughing)
- Could you tell us a little bit
about the jewelry landscape when you first started?
- Very white male dominated.
When you look at fine jewelry brands,
it's passed down from generation to generation.
You don't really see too many new, young people designing.
So I thought that was a really good start for us
to come into the game.
- So obviously right now,
there's been a whole bunch of attention
on black designers and supporting black creatives, etc.
Prior to this,
did you make it your intention to tell people
that you were a creative duo of color?
- Essentially you kinda lead with the product
especially because the product that we were putting out
was very different from what was out there.
Our stuff is very solid cast, bold, dynamic
and gender neutral.
- Why was it so important
for you guys to create pieces that didn't adhere
to the established norms in the jewelry business?
- We saw like a lot of brands,
they would have a men's collection
and then they would have a women's collection.
And we wanted to create a brand that was cohesive
where the men's pieces looked like the women's pieces
and the woman's pieces looked like the men's pieces
where I can wear it but Kofi can wear it also.
- Why do you think jewelry has historically
been so gendered?
- From my upbringing in West Africa,
a lot of royalty,
which is the chiefs and the queen mothers,
they both wore a lot of jewelry.
So I can say it had nothing really to do with gender.
The society as a whole,
the perspective was that women I guess tend to wear...
- [Kristin] More delicate jewelry.
If you look at like pearls or just like little necklaces.
- [Kofi] Diamonds. - [Kristin] So I feel like
that's probably why a lot of designers design
like that for women.
And then chunkier jewelry or more hardware looking jewelry
is catered to men's because they see men as more masculine.
We wanted to bring the two together.
- I am influenced by my culture
and how the jewelry that's worn in West Africa
is more bold
and regal is the word that keeps coming to mind.
You can tell who the person is by what you see them wearing.
Our pieces aren't fine jewelry but when you wear them,
you still have that feeling of that regalness.
Your swag changes,
and you really wanna show who you really are
when you're wearing these pieces.
- So obviously your business
like many others have been affected by COVID.
What challenges have come up to keep the business going?
And how has COVID affected your supply chain?
- [Kristin] Our business is direct to consumer.
So we're only on our website.
And then we're in one boutique,
which actually was beneficial to us
because once all the stores shut down,
everyone was shopping online.
- [Tiffany] Right.
- [Kristin] We were already ahead of the game.
- There was some saving grace there from the pandemic
and to the BLM movements with more exposures to designers
that kinda boosted our online presence as well.
- You kinda been set up for success this year. (chuckles)
- Yeah. Everything's been working out timing-wise.
- Has there been a big shift in the business
in terms of revenue?
And if so, have you been able to keep up with the demand?
- We've been around for some time now
and luckily we had inventory.
But now that that stock has kinda sold out.
We had to find a new vendor and with the funding situation,
even though those items were sold,
they were already previously paid for.
So, we're kind of trying to recoup
and then reproduce the new stuff.
- Do you think that's the biggest barrier facing diversity
in the jewelry industry, it's funding?
- Absolutely. - Yeah. Definitely.
- Absolutely.
- Prior to the pandemic,
I reached out to an investor
who I know invested in another brand
before she even had product.
Then we came along and we're like,
"Okay, we have a name,
we can show you our revenue,
we can show you how we can make money."
And it's like,
"Oh no, sorry, we don't need you."
When you see things like that,
it kinda breaks your heart a little bit.
- It's very daunting. - 'Cause it's like why?
- The opportunity to even present your stuff
to investors is a struggle as well.
- Do you guys have a community of other designers
or people who are in similar fields with you
that are helping you navigate that process?
- There's a big support of black creatives.
The Black In Fashion Council,
In The Black, Bethann Hardison's Designer Hub
is also an essential group that kinda mentors us
and gives us advice on next steps on how to proceed.
It's still hard.
And the reason why these groups are there
is because of that struggle.
- What do you think the biggest change
that needs to happen in the jewelry industry is?
- People actually being open to the contemporary designer.
Also, I guess the financing
and opportunities of getting people into the industry.
A lot of times,
especially for people like ourselves,
you don't necessarily see that as a viable career choice.
The more you see people of color
in that diverse pool of designers,
it lets the next generation know that,
I can be welcomed into the industry.
- Final question that I ask everybody on this series
is where do you see the future of fashion
and what are your hopes for it?
- I definitely see more inclusivity with race,
with gender, status.
- The old proverb is 'variety's the spice of life.'
So if we can get more and more variety of people of color,
different genders, different backgrounds
to build, not only in fashion, but in everything.
I think it would be better for everybody.
- As I reflect on the conversation I just had
with Kristin and Kofi,
the biggest takeaway is to begin
to hold the fashion industry accountable
regarding the funding that young designers,
specifically designers of color, are receiving.
I challenge the industry to ask themselves,
who are we investing in and why.
Thank you for joining this week's episode
of Future Of Fashion.
Don't forget to subscribe to Bustle
to see more from the series.
Until next time.
(upbeat music)