ian-thorpe-autore-alloy
When pearl-baron Rosario Autore wanted a high profile Aussie male to be the face and style of his range of unisex pearl chokers, he turned to swimming’s golden boy Ian Thorpe. He worked with Thorpe to create the Ian Thorpe Collection, a unique range of edgy, urban designs that incorporated the beautiful South Sea pearls for which Autore has become known internationally.
When Autore went in search of beautifully designed, high quality packaging that would reflect the stylish sentiment of the Ian Thorpe Collection, he turned to Jonathon Worner at ALLOY. After scouring the world for just the right manufacturer, Autore looked to ALLOY to deliver a unique package crafted from stainless steel.
Developed in consultation with Thorpe himself, ALLOY came up with a simple round, hinged design which, when opened out, looks suspiciously like a pair of swimming goggles.
“We wanted to develop something that was sleek and masculine but didn’t take itself too seriously,” says Jonathon Worner. “It was also important that the packaging had a quality weight to it. It certainly has a seductively, cool texture about it. Almost the same smooth sensation as rolling a pearl between your fore-finger and your thumb.”
Finished off with Ian Thorpe’s rambling signature engraved on the lid, the stainless steel container is then housed in a silver-grey draw-string Lycra bag. Any reference to Thorpe’s famous swimming costume is purely deliberate and certainly gives the image of the seriously staid pearl a witty twist.
Since developing the packaging for the Thorpe Collection, which will be distributed world wide, Autore has asked ALLOY to design the packaging for the rest of the prestigious and highly sought-after Autore collection.
This entry was posted On Thursday, May 16, 2002.