Super Fine

Legendary model Erin O’Connor plays muse to Delfina Delettrez Fendi, fashion’s edgiest jeweler.

- Alison Syrett

As the fourth-generation heir to the house of Fendi (her great grandparents founded it in 1925), Delfina Delettrez Fendi could have easily joined the family business. Instead, she blazed her own path at just 19, launching Delfina Delettrez, a collection of darkly elegant talismans, shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Emma. A decade later, her delicate craftsmanship and subversive yet sophisticated blend of creepy-cool motifs—insects, evil eyes, and lips— have made her one of the biggest names in contemporary fine jewelry. To showcase her latest pieces on these pages, she chose someone equally captivating: prolific British model Erin O’Connor. “Erin has an androgynous quality but is also profoundly feminine,” says Delettrez Fendi. “She isn’t classifiable.” Here, they discuss what it means to be a woman working in fashion today.

Delfina Delettrez Fendi:

Erin, I see such strong identity in you. I felt as if you were channeling different art disciplines on set: the grace of a ballet dancer, the presence of a stage actress. Is that an innate talent?