THE NEW TRINITY

Photography by Jackson BowleyHair by Moe Mukai

Cartier’s Trinity looks good for its age. Created nearly a century ago, the ring is made from three interlocking loops of white, rose and yellow gold, in a never-ending construction that both reflects its form’s timeless appeal and seems to invite you to put it on, being as tactile as it is recognisable. This year, the French jewellery house has teamed up with Japanese fashion designer Chitose Abe of Sacai to give the Trinity a radical overhaul. Chitose’s reimagining – and the ring’s first major redesign in its history – sees six pieces in a new limited-edition collection. The ring’s loops have been expanded into bangles and necklaces, becoming mobile and architectural to spread across the fingers and reach up to loop around the delicate ridge of the upper ear. This reinvention was born from Chitose’s sustained and affectionate familiarity with the ring.“Trinity was actually the first real jewellery I purchased, and I’m wearing Cartier now,” Chitose told TANK over a video call from Tokyo. “I wear it every day!” It was that everyday ritual that drew her to the Trinity design: “I have always designed with the idea of turning something familiar into something unexpected” – so why not rework the most familiar design of all?

Cartier purists might be shocked to see the familiar precious-metal design bloom outwards into something altogether less restrained. Yet daily wear and comfort was also at the forefront of Chitose’s mind, as it has been at her own brand since its inception. Models wore the Cartier collection on Sacai’s Autumn/Winter 2022 catwalk in Paris in March, where it was paired with reimagined tailoring, trench coats and bomber jackets. “It was our first show in two years, doing the runway in Paris,” she said. “I wanted to show Trinity not just in a photoshoot but with actual people wearing the jewellery, in movement.” Cartier’s influence extended to the lighting that greeted the guests, which came from cubes inspired by the deep vibrant shade of red that has long been a Cartier signature. “I wanted to be respectful,” said Chitose, “and to integrate Cartier elegance into the collection.”

The three rings are said to represent love, friendship and fidelity, qualities that are important to Chitose, and which were – as they have been for many – clarified by the pandemic: “It’s given me the chance to rethink many things – how critical it is to be original, the importance of one’s personal connection with people and of creativity.” As the Trinity has always emphasised, everything comes full circle. “I feel everything very intensely, which was how it felt in the beginning when I set up Sacai in 1999,” Chitose said – and time hasn’t faded her passionate intensity. “Creativity is bursting; there are so many things going on in the world,” she says, “but we still need to be original.” The Cartier collection testifies both to Chitose’s ability to do just that and the surprising beauty created when the known is pulled out of shape. ◉