Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert Joins Swarovski As Creative Director

For the first time in its 125-year history, Swarovski is naming a company-wide creative director. Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert was appointed to the position today, reflective of a restructuring that sees Swarovski family members Robert Buchbauer (CEO), Nadja Swarovski, and Mathias Margreiter joining the executive board. “I have already been committed to the creative direction of Swarovski’s B2B division since 2016 and was focussing on the areas of ingredient branding, design, and content curation then,” Battaglia Engelbert told Vogue. “My new role is a natural evolution and now covers all creative aspects of Swarovski as a whole.”

Born in Milan, Battaglia Engelbert started her career in fashion as a model — you can find her on Dolce & Gabbana catwalks in the early noughties — before launching into styling and editing. Her editorial work and personal style, which made her an international street style star, are marked by their joie de vivre, with bright colours, bold prints, and a clever mix of silhouettes. It’s not difficult to imagine one of fashion’s most exuberant figures finding kinship in the glimmer of crystal. “I just love the material — I love crystal!” she says. “Swarovski, to me, is a platform to express creativity in a very cross-disciplinary way. I have a passion for the joyful Embellishment of Life [brand message], which ultimately is what Swarovski crystal is all about—whether it is around your neck, in your home, or in your spirit.”

Fashion, jewellery, and accessories are natural categories for Battaglia Engelbert to focus on, but the creative director will be overseeing all of the Austrian company’s endeavours, from chandeliers to stemware. There, she emphasises the importance of craft as what will guide her strategy: “There are incredible people making magic happen. It was mind-blowing for me to deep-dive into the craftsmanship and incredible competencies Swarovski holds. I’m very happy that I have been given the magic wand now.”

The brand has for many years been tied to luxury fashion through its crystal embellishments; last season it collaborated with such labels as Missoni, Koché, Christopher John Rogers, and Khaite. The brand was also a longtime sponsor of the CFDA Awards until 2019 and currently sponsors the Fashion Awards in London. “As part of a new overall vision and growth strategy of the company, I have already started crafting a new creative vision for Swarovski,” Battaglia Engelbert says. “We are set to enter a new era and will reveal more in the collection for spring/summer 2021. I am proud to be part of shaping the future of Swarovski together with so many brilliant minds.”