Breakfast at Tiffany's: "Paper" Plates, Anyone?

Way back when I noted that Reed Krakoff had good taste. He just didn't exhibit it at Coach, where he offered his long-time clients a variety of gilded patchwork logorific bags.

He's now lending his aesthetic vision to Tiffany in a much anticipated partnership. In January 2017 the New York Times posed the question: Can Reed Krakoff Rescue Tiffany? Perhaps now, with the unveiling of the new "Everyday Objects" collection, the question should be: Should Tiffany Rescue Itself from Reed Krakoff? I see no need to recuse myself from this discussion.

It's a quick slip of the pun from "Krakoff" to "Knockoff," but chief artistic officer Reed has found inspiration in an unlikely area: everyday items, from paper plates to a tin can. (Think Campbell's Soup with its label removed.) What would Warhol think?

The only Tiffany identifier is a thin slice of blue on the can, reminiscent of the tape my children's violin teacher put on their violin neck to help with finger placement. The paper plate, to my eye, doesn't even have that.

Tiffany is marketing these "objets everyday" as a triumph of wit, but at these prices ($1000 for the can), I wonder whether the 1% target audience will queue up to pay the 7% NY sales tax.

If the signature Tiffany blue is super subtle; or, indeed, invisible, on some of the objects, it's in full force for the children's items (the better to show other parents you buy Tiffany for toddlers?). Perhaps these items are just for the showroom, but although the blue bear head and the blue Lego(?) inspired cupboard doors and blue chandelier may transcend standard gender coding, they definitely nod to the depth of parents' pockets.

As I thought about the title to this collection, I couldn't help but reach back to Alice Walker's story "Everyday Use." In it, an educated, somewhat yuppified daughter wants to preserve her mother's handmade quilts by displaying them; the younger, rural daughter wants to use them. The tension thus results from a debate whether the quilts are works of art or functional objects. Reed Krakoff's collection begs a third option: Do these objects serve either purpose--art or function?

And if neither, then . . . what? I'll follow Audrey's lead and enjoy my croissant from a (real) paper bag.