Pomellato to Stage First Solo Exhibition of Helmut Newton’s 1980s Brand Campaigns

MILAN — Pomellato is gearing up to stage its first solo exhibition of Helmut Newton’s images lensed for the Milan-based jewelry brand.

“Pomellato, Helmut Newton & the ’80s” will be held in Tokyo at the Omotesando Crossing Park Sept. 18 to Oct. 6.

The exhibition will display Newton’s disruptive and innovative campaigns for Pomellato from 1982 to 1984, presented for the first time as large-format exhibition prints.

“Campaigns are brilliant markers of time, crystallizing the mood of a moment. In the ‘80s, Helmut Newton’s eye captured Pomellato’s belief that ‘to wear jewelry is to bring forward a part of oneself,’” said Sabina Belli, chief executive officer of Pomellato Group.

“What made this collaboration revolutionary was how Newton portrayed the Pomellato woman with such beautiful, challenging non-conformity,” Belli continued. “Newton was uniquely capable of representing not just the glamour of this golden age, but the profound societal change happening in women’s lives — creating visual manifestos of liberation that remain as powerful today as when they first surprised and delighted the world.”

The black-and-white photos highlight storied and archival Pomellato jewels, including the signature “Gourmette” chains with curved links, the architectural “Gate-link” necklaces in yellow gold and diamonds, and the “Tessute” woven designs, which exemplify the brand’s goldsmithing expertise in chain-making and colored gemstones.

“Newton’s photographs for Pomellato rank among the most striking examples of his 1980s style,” said Matthias Harder, director and curator of the Helmut Newton Foundation, Museum of Photography. “These unconventional images captured a zeitgeist that Newton uniquely visualized: women being protagonists, scenes recalling Nouvelle Vague films, and jewelry presented in intensely innovative ways. To see them finally presented as large-format exhibition prints in this dedicated Tokyo show is something I’m delighted to witness.”

Newton’s signature approach transformed jewelry advertising, capturing, for example, a woman lounging on a traditional brass bed wearing a silk robe, open just so that her bra is visible, her eyes shaded by dark sunglasses, her hands in long black leather gloves, and Pomellato’s recognizable chain necklaces and one earring part of the narrative.

The photographer’s bold images were aligned with Pomellato founder Pino Rabolini’s idea of women’s independence, wearing jewelry for themselves rather than as status symbols bestowed by others, and underscoring female empowerment. Belli was named CEO in December 2015 and has been key in maintaining Pomellato’s commitment to promote gender equality, inclusivity and diversity.

In another photo, the Pomellato woman sits in a bar wearing a patent leather trench, a beret, a stack of bracelets on one arm, glancing down at her companion — an English bulldog.

The Helmut Newton Foundation was established in October 2003 by the photographer, dedicated to the preservation and presentation of his works and those of his wife, June Newton, aka Alice Springs. After June’s death in 2021, the complete archives of both photographers are now housed in Berlin.

Pomellato was founded in 1967 and has been controlled by Kering since 2013. The brand’s creative director Vincenzo Castaldo joined the brand in 2003 and was named to his current role in 2015.

Unveiling Pomellato’s high jewelry collection in June, Castaldo said he had focused on what he called “the three golden decades,” from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, and “how they created the identity of the brand in a very structured way.” The designer said “the ‘80s were years of hedonism, they brought a sense of lightness and pleasure. If I had to think of a claim, it would be creative freedom.” To contextualize the moment, at the time several jewelry brands were still developing “jewels with small flowers and hearts. Pomellato was quite nonconformist back then, working on its own bold identity.”