John Hardy is expanding its creative partnership with Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, bringing the Grammy-winning siblings into the design process as the jewelry brand gains momentum across several key categories and sharpens its approach to wholesale.
The Billie Eilish & Finneas Collection marks the next chapter of a relationship that began with the musicians serving as ambassadors for Lovestruck, the brand’s lab-grown diamond collection. Developed with creative chairman Reed Krakoff and design teams in New York and Bali, the assortment splices the siblings’ contrasting aesthetics with John Hardy’s longstanding tradition of handcraft.
The collaboration is part of a broader strategy to introduce the 50-year-old house to new consumers while building on recent commercial gains.
“That’s really what we want to do is create brand awareness and introduce John Hardy to a new consumer group,” said Matt Tepper, chief executive officer of John Hardy.
Sustainability was the initial point of connection, with the musicians drawn to the brand’s history of reclaimed materials and environmental initiatives. But the partnership has evolved beyond an ambassadorship and dressing into a creative exchange.
“The fact that John Hardy uses only reclaimed metals — and any scraps from pieces that they are making, they then reuse in their next pieces — this was hugely appealing to us. Their workspaces in Bali also run off of renewable energy,” O’Connell told WWD.
The collection hinges on two distinct expressions. Wildflower, inspired by Eilish’s song, translates floral forms into sterling silver pieces accented with lab-grown diamonds. Screwball takes a more industrial turn, with sculptural chains, spherical hardware and piercing-inspired details.
The tension between softness and strength falls in line with John Hardy’s existing design vocabulary, Krakoff said, even as the siblings pushed its expression in new directions.
“I think that’s the reason to do a collaboration, is to combine the strengths and the sort of attitudes of both,” he said. “It was one of those times where I think it was successful and that together it produced something new and different, but still felt like it could be from John Hardy.”
The process also unearthed a less familiar side of Eilish’s personal style. While her stage persona is associated with oversize chains and substantial jewelry, she gravitates toward more delicate pieces in her everyday wardrobe, she shared with Krakoff, a duality reflected throughout the collection.
“Jewelry has always been an enormous part of how I express myself. It’s such an important reflection of a certain time in your life. I’ve always loved a simple pendant, and this was the perfect opportunity to make these beautiful pieces with different kinds of wildflowers on them,” Eilish said.
The launch comes as Lovestruck has emerged as one of John Hardy’s most successful recent introductions. After roughly a year and a half on the market, it accounts for about 10 percent of the company’s overall business and ranks among its top 10 collections, despite limited wholesale distribution.
“We sold out of a bunch of styles multiple times,” Tepper said of the collection.
Rather than treating lab-grown diamonds as a lower-priced alternative to natural stones, Krakoff developed proprietary freeform cuts and settings intended to establish a distinct expression.
“We approached it as really the first heritage brand to design a custom-cut, unique setting that was with lab-grown diamonds, but it wasn’t the initial idea. It was more just a component of the design language,” Krakoff said.
The collection has resonated with new and existing customers alike, with Heishi Lovestruck emerging as a particularly strong seller. Its performance has also encouraged the company to explore additional applications for lab-grown diamonds.
Men’s jewelry has become a formidable part of the business, accounting for about 20 percent of sales. According to Krakoff, the category has doubled since he joined John Hardy, aided by a shift toward more versatile pieces that invite stacking and layering.
“Men don’t necessarily all look at it as buying jewelry. They look at it as buying an accessory,” Krakoff said.
That approach has encouraged customers to purchase multiple bracelets, often coordinating them with watches. The interplay of precious metals with rubber and leather reinforces the brand’s more casual sensibility, distinguishing it from more formal men’s jewelry offerings.
Gold, meanwhile, has gained traction as John Hardy broadens its assortment across price points. Tepper said the category has grown substantially over the past three years, with mixed-metal designs proving particularly successful as higher gold prices influence purchasing preferences.
The expanded assortment is also helping John Hardy command higher price points. Krakoff pointed to customers spending $5,000 to $10,000 on gold pieces, while Tepper said the company sells individual pieces priced at $20,000 to $40,000 even through its e-commerce business.
That appetite extends to the Artisan Series, where higher-priced designs have gained traction. Krakoff said a recent assortment of colored gemstone cocktail rings had sold out.
Wholesale is another growth engine. John Hardy is now carried in nearly 40 Nordstrom doors, having added about 10 locations over the past six months, while Bloomingdale’s has added additional doors.
Among independent retailers, the executives shared, sell-through is increasing at double-digit rates. Tepper attributed the gains to a more analytical approach to merchandising, with tailored assortments developed for key wholesale partners rather than a uniform product mix across doors.
Krakoff said the renewed attention extends to how the brand is presented at retail, where fixtures and merchandising serve as an important expression of John Hardy’s evolving identity.
Looking ahead, the U.S. remains the primary focus for expansion across wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, with the Caribbean and Indonesia also presenting opportunities for growth. The company will return to the Couture jewelry trade show in 2027, underscoring its renewed investment in wholesale.
For Krakoff, the momentum reflects a broader shift in how consumers perceive John Hardy and the value of its designs.
“The customers want more from John Hardy, and price isn’t a barrier when it’s something they fall in love with,” he said.