Career
After attending the Université Paris Nanterre, Picasso worked as a costume designer for the Folies Bergère in Paris.[4][6]
Some rhinestone necklaces she had created from stones purchased at flea markets drew attention from critics. Encouraged by this early success, the designer pursued formal schooling in jewelry design. A year later, Picasso presented her first efforts to her friend, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who immediately commissioned her to design accessories to accompany one of his collections.[6] In 1971, Picasso launched her first collection of costume jewelry in his Rive Gauche boutiques in Paris.[7] Her vintage 1940s style inspired Yves Saint Laurent's 1971 Scandal collection.[8] Through him she became part of artist Andy Warhol's social circle.[7]
Picasso portrayed Countess Erzsébet Báthory in Polish filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk's erotic film, Immoral Tales (1973), receiving praise from the critics for her beauty.After the death of her father in 1973, Picasso took a hiatus from designing to catalogue his estate and help establish the Musée Picasso in Paris.[9]
In 1979, Picasso began working for the Greek jewelry company Zolotas.[4]
In 1980 Picasso began designing jewelry for Tiffany & Co. of New York. The company's design director emeritus, John Loring, described Picasso's designs as "aggressively chic and uncompromisingly stylised. Her signature is seen in X’s, scribbles and zigzags, all sculpted in gold. She also punctuates gold with lavishly scaled colored gemstones."[4]
In 1984 she began experimenting with fragrance, creating the "Paloma" perfume for L'Oréal.[10] In the New York Post Picasso described it as intended for "strong women like herself." A cosmetics and bath line including body lotion, powder, shower gel, and soap were produced in the same year.Two American museums have acquired Picasso's work for their permanent collections. Housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History is a 396.30-carat kunzite necklace designed by her. And visitors to The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago can view her 408.63-carat moonstone bracelet accented with diamond "lightning bolts."
Picasso has a penchant for red which started at an early age.[11][12] Her red lipsticks were called "her calling cards."[13] "Red lips have become my signature, so when I don’t want to be recognized, I don’t wear it," she said[12]
In 2010, Picasso celebrated her 30th anniversary with Tiffany and Co. by introducing a collection based upon her love of Morocco, called Marrakesh. In 2011, she debuted her Venezia collection, which celebrates the city of Venice and its motifs.
