Kieselstein-Cord
Luxury Belt Buckles and Fine Accessories
Barry Kieselstein Cord is that rare bird in the world of fashion who speaks his mind, bucks trends and decrees of direction, and yet has remained a potent force in the world of design for more than thirty years.
Cord is a designer and artist. But he is also an entrepreneur. He sees the world through the eyes of the poet. But he also thinks like a businessman. He knows the power of a beautiful object. But he also knows that it has no power at all unless it succeeds in the marketplace—and ends up in the hands of someone who appreciates it.
His unusual combination of artistic obsession and commercial prowess have made him one of the world's most successful and respected designers—a two-time winner of fashion’s version of the Oscar, the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award, and a favorite of a mind-boggling array of tastemakers and celebrities, from Tom Hanks to Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey to Lennox Lewis, Steven Spielberg to T.I., Jay-Z to Vladimir Putin, Eric Clapton to Brooke Shields, Madonna to Janet Jackson, Sir Elton John to Sharon Stone, Bruce Springsteen to Usher, Lenny Kravitz to Whoopi Goldberg, Diane von Furstenberg to Obama.
Created as art objects, with a sense of style ungoverned by the whims of fashion, his bold, sculptural, simultaneously sophisticated and primitive, and often whimsical pieces are coveted because they are much more than jewelry and accessories; they are art, they have been accepted into the permanent collections of the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston as examples of the finest applied arts, but more important, they are valued by individual collectors of great taste, who collect them and display every day in the world’s greatest gallery in the world—its streets. "I don't make jewelry,” he’s said. “I do sculptures for the body.”
“My life as an artist started when I was about eight,” Cord has said. “My primary interest at that moment was directed toward North American Indian art. This was my first influence between the ages of 8 and 14. I produced large-scale carvings and effigies and interpretations. Between 14 and 22 my focus switched to painting and metalwork. At 14 I started to bury objects and metal in the ground to observe color and patina changes. From the earliest moments I can recall fascination with all past cultures and an intense attraction to art and architecture, not surprising, as in their youth my mother had been an illustrator and father an architect. I still hold these fascinations and occasionally some recall slips into my work. I have rarely ever looked at the ornamentation of other artists; my primary influences come from entire cultures and periods.”
Educated at the Parson School of Design, New York University and the American Craft Institute, Cord first entered the creative business as an advertising art director and producer. Before leaving the industry, he was awarded the advertising world’s top creative awards. What he learned then still informs all of his own advertising, store designs and promotions. His own photographs are often featured in them all.
Cord started his business in 1972 and Georg Jensen introduced his jewelry to the world the following year. Their unique combination of innovative finishes, bold themes and fine craftsmanship made the world take notice. In 1976, he introduced the first of his iconic belt buckles, and fashion folk flocked to his door. In 1979, he won the first of two Coty Awards, then fashion’s ultimate accolade. But more important to him was seeing his designs worn by the sexiest, most stylish men and women in the world.
By the 1980s, Cord was established as one of America's most sought-after creators of distinctive jewelry and accessories, and his company, Kieselstein-Cord, based in midtown Manhattan, began to grow until it also included handbags, luggage, home furnishings, eyewear and other fine accessories. In 1985, he opened an in-store boutique at Bergdorf Goodman. Recently he has opened his own Kieselstein-Cord stores in Munich, Jakarta, Moscow, Gstaad, St. Moritz, Zurich, Kiev, Odessa and Singapore and Hong Kong (in spring 2010) and Tokyo (in 2011). He was also a pioneer in protecting his work—standing up when it was copied, or in fashion parlance, “knocked off” by counterfeiters. After a two-year battle and at great personal expense, he was responsible for establishing laws that today protects designers around the world.
Today, over 5,000 designs later, Barry Kieselstein-Cord remains an astonishingly successful
designer and imaginative entrepreneur, who has built one of America's largest designer-owned branded luxury companies, yet remains true to his personal vision, even as he directs his employees, oversees 12 K-C stores around the world and generates millions in annual revenue. His pieces, every one of which is signed, dated, and copyrighted, are widely sought and become instant classics, bringing high prices at auctions, making them a wise investment as well as cherished indulgence.
Though Cord’s friends say he works 25 hour days eight days a week, he also finds time to cut fields on his farm in NY’s Hudson Valley, repair fences and fix ancient tractors and boardwalks through the first-class marshes that surround his property. His farm is abundant with rare flora and fauna. Cord draws unending inspiration from these bucolic surroundings; he transposes and crates themes based on his green visions from the countryside. His design collections are a cornucopia of animal inspired artworks. Cord considers the most valuable and inspiring assets his family. His daughter Elisabeth, son John, and wife Karen are his never ending muses . www.kieselstein-cord.com
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Kieselstein-Cord Collection
Store Hours and Location
Kieselstein-Cord
1058 Madison Avenue
on the Corner of 80th Street
New York, NY 10028
(212)744-1041
Monday - Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday: Closed
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