Cate Blanchett’s Winning Necklace, Partying Pre-BAFTAs, Jaden Smith in Paris
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GOOD LUCK CHARM: The winning necklace.
Award season’s most coveted Cate Blanchett is on a sustainability mission and she took it to the BAFTAs red carpet with herself.
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The “Tár” actor picked up the Best Actress award at Sunday’s ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London in a custom Maison Margiela black silk and velvet gown by John Galliano with a special necklace that she designed with Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director of watches and jewelry at Louis Vuitton.
“Seeking out and using and reusing sustainable materials is very important to me, and Francesca and I both know the beauty that can come from engaging in this space. So in conversation, we decided to create a moment to showcase not only her incredible artistry and ingenuity but the craftsmanship at Louis Vuitton,” Blanchett told WWD about the four-string pearl necklace that sits with a 23.78 carat Nigerian tourmaline that’s connected to hand-threaded rows of metallic Tahitian pearls.
“We seized the moment to create something exquisite together. The tourmaline stone was recovered and repurposed from a previous necklace design, as were the pearls. Rewearing, repurposing and a collective approach toward more sustainable options are integral to the evolution and sustainability of the fashion industry,” added Blanchett.
The necklace was created in Vuitton’s Place Vendôme high jewelry atelier, featuring 188 Tahitian pearls in total which were repurposed from existing Louis Vuitton necklaces.
“When Cate Blanchett talked to me about designing a repurposed necklace, this mission, for me, was a study in timelessness. I love pearls and sought to create a piece for her made from repurposing them along with other stones and gold, as what better way to pay homage to the enduring nature of the world’s most precious materials than by their reuse and continual adaptation,” said Amfitheatrof of the process.
Blanchett has been vocal in the past about sustainability on the red carpet. In 2020, she rewore her Esteban Cortázar gown from the press tour of “Carol” from 2015 to the Venice Film Festival.
Last year Blanchett partnered with her friend Danny Kennedy, clean-technology entrepreneur, to host a podcast on climate change for Audible called “Climate of Change,” where they invited guests such as the former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, Prince William, Adam McKay and more. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED
FINCH’S FROLICS: ‘Twas the night before the BAFTAs, and in Mayfair the stars gathered for cocktails and dinner hosted by Charles Finch and Chanel.
A mariachi band stood by the door greeting guests including Austin Butler, Eddie Redmayne, Gwendoline Christie, Giles Deacon, Camila Morrone, Regé-Jean Page, Alexa Chung, Angela Bassett, Taron Egerton, Jenna Coleman, Albrecht Schuch, Ellie Bamber and more.
Each room at 5 Hertford Street was brimming with sparkles and tweed as Chanel-clad guests sipped Champagne and margaritas, and grazed on fried tempura and smoked salmon canapés.
The English actor James Norton was enjoying a night off after wrapping his hit BBC One TV show “Happy Valley.” The actor has already started work on his next project, a stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 book “A Little Life.”
Norton has read the book twice already, and wants theater-goers to do the same. He’ll make his debut in March at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End.
Downstairs, where dinner was being served, photographer Misan Harriman revealed that he’s currently working on his first film with Netflix.
“It’s about grief because we don’t talk about it enough,” said Harriman, who credits British Vogue’s Edward Enninful for his quick rise to fame. Harriman shot the magazine’s 2020 September issue with Marcus Rashford and Adwoa Aboah on the cover.
Coleman, who starred in the critically acclaimed “The Sandman” last year, has dyed her hair blond and said she was excited about her upcoming thriller “Wilderness” with Prime Video.
The series is based on the B.E. Jones thriller of the same name, which follows a couple as they go on a road trip through America’s national parks in a bid to save their marriage.
Coleman’s character Liv sets three challenges that could kill her husband, who’s played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen. It’s a “Gone Girl”-esque tale meets “Promising Young Woman,” she told WWD in an interview last year.
As guests made their way downstairs for dinner, Butler arrived in a dark gray chalk stripe double-breasted suit from Tom Ford.
The actor greeted everyone with charm, and later talked about his upcoming projects. They include “Master of the Air,” which he finished wrapping right before taking on the role of Elvis Presley, and “Dune: Part Two.”
In the latter, he stars alongside Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. He will also appear in “The Bikeriders,” which tracks the rise of a Midwestern motorcycle club. It also stars Tom Hardy. — H.M.
PARIS BOUND: Jaden Smith will bring his fashion brand to Paris for a month-long pop-up at the famed department store Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées outpost.
Smith’s MSFTSrep will take over a first-floor space for his latest drop. Titled “Trippy Summer,” the collection explores the counterculture of the 1960s. The unisex pieces include jackets, hoodies, T-shirts, pants and accessories that play with the bright psychedelic colors of the decade and are inspired by musicians Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.
The pop-up will reflect the manifesto of the collection with minimalist decoration and an emphasis on greenery and nature — fitting as the collection features items such as a sunflower hat. Items from the collection will also be presented on the store’s main staircase.
The sunflower hat is a nod to an episode of father Will Smith’s TV hit “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” which aired in 1993. In the episode, a sunflower hat is treated as a source of embarrassment. The younger Smith wanted to embrace the hat and include the item in the collection as a symbol to express his love of flowers and our relationship with nature.
MSFTSrep was cofounded a decade ago by Smith, his sister Willow and actors Moises and Mateo Arias. The label’s moniker is a meant to reflect a place where fellow “misfits” could come together and share ideas.
This follows the label moving its production to Italy in 2021 as Smith seeks to grow the business as well as stand by his environmental and social-equity ethos. Smith has turned MSFTSrep into a cruelty-free brand, uses eco-friendly materials including apple leather, pays fair wages to factory workers and produces in small batches to avoid overproduction.
The pop-up will remain from Friday to March 20, with Smith set to make an appearance during Paris Fashion Week. — RHONDA RICHFORD
KORS ON THE COURSE: Michael Kors is getting into the golf business this spring and has signed two fresh-faced ambassadors to help promote the launch.
The company has selected PGA Tour players Beau Hossler and Austin Eckroat as its 2023 golf ambassadors and they will wear bespoke Michael Kors men’s apparel throughout their appearances this season.
Michael Kors’ golf line will debut in April at the company’s stores in North America, as well as on its e-commerce site and in select golf course pro shops. The company said more details about the line would be available closer to the launch.
Hossler turned professional in 2016 after an amateur career that included six collegiate wins, and was the youngest player since 1945 to make the cut at the U.S. Open in 2012 as a 17-year-old. Now 27, Hossler has notched nine top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.
Eckroat just earned his PGA Tour card for the 2022-23 season. The 24-year-old, who attended Oklahoma State University, won the 2018 NCAA Championship, was a member of the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup Team and the 2021 Walker Cup team. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: “Everyone has to get in the tub before they leave,” bellowed Christian Siriano, to the dozens of guests at his party at the Bathtub Gin speakeasy in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood Thursday evening.
The designer was celebrating his new hand towel and robe designs done in collaboration with the DXV luxury kitchen and bathroom brand. Just like DXV’s Belshire Collection, the DXV x Christian Siriano limited-edition line reflects opulence and glamour of the 1920s Golden Era.
There’s a “vintage, Art Deco and still modern feel” to the products, Siriano said. “I am a big fan of the soft terrycloth towel, so I wanted these to feel luxurious and usable and washable all at the same time.”
After jumping into the big Belshire tub by the bar, drink in hand, Siriano told the crowd: “This is the first time we have ever done gorgeous bathrobes and towels in anything, ever. I never had them backstage at a show, and I was saying to the girls that it was the best thing we’ve ever done, because we knew where the models were at all times because we made them wear our robes. And that is the biggest challenge — to find where these girls are. They run around. They’re having a drink. They’re outside. ‘Hello girls. We have a show!'”
Siriano hooked up with DXV after outfitting his 279-year-old home in Easton, Connecticut, with pieces from the Belshire Collection. “My house is one of the oldest homes in Connecticut. George Washington stayed there twice.”
He said he had “such a blast designing” with the DXV team. “What you guys do is unbelievable. We make clothes which happens quickly and viscerally. What you do takes months and years and molds upon molds to make.” He hopes to one day do a full collection of bathroom fixtures, possibly with DXV. “I never designed my own tub.” — DAVID MOIN
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