‘1.618’ ; four numbers which allude to the golden ratio, a mathematical ratio symbolising perfect harmony which can be seen in the natural world and in certain man-made wonders… This four-digit sequence is the name Barbara Coignet chose for her agency as an affirmation of her vision: that beauty is the key driver of change.
Launched in 2009, the 1.618 agency identifies and selects the most committed luxury businesses to work with, giving them greater visibility through image consulting and curation services, as well as by acting as a marketplace and hosting large-scale events. One example of this are the Biennale events organised by the agency, designed to shine a light on the most creative brands by delivering both attractive and sustainable concepts to its clients. Among the brands showcased at the most recent Biennale (2018) is the jewellery house JEM. Built from the ground up in 2008 with a core commitment to ethics, JEM became the first French brand to have its gold certified as Fairmined, the most stringent hallmark in terms of traceability and accountability of the gold industry’s major players. With regard to its collections, Dorothée Contour – who acquired the brand in 2014 – also made the decision to opt for laboratory diamonds, which have the same physical and chemical characteristics as mined diamonds but without the same ramifications for the environment and workforce.
In the reflection of these man-made diamonds – for which the technology has only ensured sufficient quality for use in jewellery in the last few years – innovation is at the core of sustainable luxury. Not only does this result in the use of innovative materials and manufacturing processes, but also in improved quality thanks to new technologies based on traditional craftsmanship. This includes blockchain technology (an unhackable public or private database containing the history of all the exchanges between various actors in the value chain), which enables the French label Nativa Precious Fiber – also in attendance at 1.618’s most recent Biennale – to provide brands wishing to source high quality merino wool with a raw material that is 100% traceable and is worker, animal and environmentally-friendly.
1.618 strives to promote ethically responsible initiatives across a variety of lifestyle sectors, with its Biennales playing host to several brands under one banner, including the likes of Jaguar (and its 100% electric I-Pace), Ôzento (intelligent and immersive living solutions) and even Matea Benedetti (a young Slovenian fashion brand which uses innovative materials such as apple ‘leather’). Some of these industries are more pioneering than others and, in the words of Barbara Coignet, have been making “huge strides for many years now” – this is especially true for the cosmetics sector. The agency was given the opportunity to promote the brand Cha Ling, which was founded in 2016 and “created with an eco-friendly ambition” – to preserve the ancient tree forest used to cultivate Pu’Er tea, located in the Chinese province of Yunnan. Not only an eco-friendly ambition but a humane one too, given that this richly biodiverse space is also a source of cultural and spiritual heritage for local minority communities.
The trendsetting nature of the luxury sector means that its influence can be leveraged in order to ‘plant’ a new, more responsible mindset across the creative industries – that’s the name of the game according to Barbara Coignet, for whom luxury symbolises, by its very nature, the beauty in taking a stand.
1.618 Biennale from 4 to 6 December 2020
at Carreau du Temple, Paris 3ème
1618-paris.com
@1.618paris
jem-paris.com
nativapreciousfiber.com
cha-ling.com
Text : Ambre Allart
