TikTok Star Loren Gray’s Debut Jewelry Collection is All About Accessible Glamour
For the over-30 set, Loren Gray’s name may not be familiar, but for Generation Z, she’s a household name. As one of TikTok’s most popular users, Gray charms her nearly 50 million followers with 15-second video clips that offer girl-next-door glamour and the app’s prerequisite lip-synced renditions of pop hits. At just 18, Gray already juggles being an influencer and a recording artist—she signed to Capitol Records in 2018, home of Katy Perry and Migos—but she felt 2020 was the right moment to step into a new role, entrepreneur. With everyone and their mother currently dropping a streetwear label or beauty brand, Gray wanted to stand out from the crowd and start an affordable, on-trend jewelry line named &always. “I didn’t really see anyone within the influencer space making jewelry,” she shared over Zoom chat. “I wanted to build something for my community, and I’ve always found jewelry to be sentimental.”
Gray’s love for statement jewelry is instantly evident. Over Zoom, she sports an array of silver hair clips, chains, and coordinated earrings. Each piece is from her new collection, but a quick scroll through her feed reveals that she’s always embraced the beauty of bling. “Even before I thought to make a brand, I would wear my chains and hoops every day,” she says. “I just love dressing up my outfits.” Still, making a move from jewelry enthusiast to creative director required immersion in the industry’s manufacturing side. “This has been an educational experience,” says Gray, who worked for a year to perfect her wares. “There are a lot of things that you don’t necessarily realize as a consumer. I had to learn, but it was fun to go behind the scenes and see how everything works.”
Understanding how a piece moved from sketch to reality informed Gray’s choice to use in house e-commerce. As she opted for a direct-to-consumer model, not having a middleman allowed her to price the entire collection with her teenage fans in mind. “I wanted this to be affordable, so the price point is $16 to $44,” she explains. Keeping the line environmentally friendly was also essential. “All of our packaging is 100% recyclable and reusable,” says Gray of the line’s oversized tin cases that can double as jewelry boxes. “That was so important to me. It took a lot of meetings and planning to get things right.”
