We found paradise. Whisked away from the hustle and bustle of Cannes, we emerged at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. The once private mansion opened as an Antibes hotel in 1870 overlooking the French Riviera like a perfect postcard. It’s the kind of corner you turn where you feel as if they shut the gates behind you, you would never know a world outside anymore…nor care to. The secrets these old walls could tell, the affair between Taylor and Burton, the celebrities and their chaos wax and wane like the tides. You walk the grounds and you feel as if nobody else exists…and if you listen closely in the silence of the garden, you can hear the ocean calling like the distant sound of the late night trumpet from behind the damp walls of a New Orleans party. At the water’s edge sits the magnificent Resturant Eden Roc where we sipped on white wine and enjoyed the view while Leo did press interviews for Gatsby and Sasha Baron Cohen took photographs of his parents on vacation. This day sits in my memory as one of those beautiful days where the sun came out, everyone was smiling, we were young and beautiful and still making our way, the world still had magic and we had more time to create. I read somewhere there is a plaque in the garden that reads “Ce qui sera, c’est ce qui fut”- “what will be, is what was” and this day was perfect.
As the late afternoon set in, the rain returned as did we to Cannes. Kevin and I had a Chopard Cinemagraph shoot scheduled with Cara Delevingne before we all descended on the evening’s activities. That particular night was the Chopard Trophy Party with Colin Firth as guest of honor and a performance by Solange Knowles at the Hotel Martinez before slipping peacefully to bed dreaming about that garden of Eden that has captured my imagination so.

Up the hill to the Hotel du Cap in my MAIYET Turquoise dress & Coach Terri Heels. 

Cocktail attire~ classic chiffon and lace dress by Lela Rose (Remember from this shoot?) with Schutz heels and a Nars matte lip. 

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Our journey to Cannes started a few months back; it actually began in Geneva in a workshop of craftsmen, spending countless hours making this year’s precious Palme d’Or Chopard so proudly bears the honor of crafting each year for the Cannes Film Festival.

I had a lot of expectations for Cannes – how could you not with such a famous and star studded event? I can remember as if it was yesterday sitting at the breakfast bar of my parents’ house in Texas, getting ready for school and watching the Today Show cover the red carpet of Cannes. My eyes were fixated on the screen… and now I am here. Beyond the glamour and the evening gowns, the faces of such notable actors and luxury brand names, the Cote d’Azur, our French Riviera, was also the view that inspired artists such as Matisse, Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald. I couldn’t wait to see it, to taste it, and to just watch it all with my own eyes and not those of a child in front of a TV set.

The day started at the Chopard Lounge on top of the Hotel Martinez: a sweeping terrace with views of the Promenade de la Croisette. Yachts smiled in the harbor as the crowds of photographers swam around waiting for pictures of celebrity arrivals in the bustling streets. It was a very strange sensation from up on the terrace and laying in bed at night to all of a sudden hear screams from a crowd – ah yes, another celebrity has emerged.

The rain came and went and with each pop of sun another beautifully dressed guest would walk through the doors, glittering in diamonds and sapphires, French perfumes dancing through the air, entangling itself with the smell of fresh cut roses. The distant sound of champagne being poured and glasses clinking, the faint smell of cigarettes over whispers and laugher, and that view… I’ll never get over that beautiful view.

As the day came to a close we attended the official dinner of the opening ceremony of the festival at the Agora. The Great Gatsby had just finished premiering and as we sat for dinner, in poured the cast and an excited air filled the room…but it was not until Steven Spielberg walked in that the space erupted in applause. He was magnanimous.

The first day at Cannes…despite being jet lagged and just coming off a week long shoot in LA, I lay in bed and thought about how the little girl watching the TV became the woman walking in the room tonight.

MAIYET hand block printed  in Jaipur, India maxi dress to blow around in the Mediterranean wind. 

Exploring Cannes in a handwoven MAIYET skirt with jacquard detailing, Barneys cashmere sweater and J.Crew ballet flats. 

Actress Blanca Suárez, this year’s Trophée Chopard winner for emerging talent.

Actor Jeremy Irvine, this year’s Trophée Chopard winner for emerging talent.

Above~ Caroline Scheufele, Chopard‘s Co-President  and designer of the Palme d’Or and high jewelry collections. 

“I don’t dream at night, I dream all day, I dream for a living.” -Steven Spielberg

Actress Julianne Moore in a Chopard platinum & diamond necklace.

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I love models. I love the way their bone structure causes light to fall differently on their face. I love they have to learn to communicate so much through their eyes, to tell the story you are trying to tell. I love how they can take on different looks and moods with just a change of styling. I love how they are aware photographically what to do with their bodies down to their toes. A model, to me, is a human canvas where we paint our stories. These are some photographs we made for MAKE cosmetics, I just love looking at her face.

Art Direction by Ariana Mouyiaris / Makeup by Ayami Nishimura / Hair by Naoki Komiya / Styling by Kat Typaldos

Go behind-the-scenes of the campaign shoot here, and learn how to get some gorgeous MAKE looks here and here!

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I have never seen a fashion parade quite like this on 5th Avenue in all my years in Manhattan. Opulence, elegance, humor, chicness… anything goes when you are lunching with the world’s elite of society in Central Park’s stunning Conservancy at 105th & 5th for the 31st annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon.

Through the grand gates we arrived, heralded by trumpeters in the garden and champagne sparkling in flutes. Under a tent exploding in spring blossoms, we dined on mint pea soup and Maine lobster salad crafted by Abigail Kirsch. The event hosted by the Women’s Committee of Central Park Conservancy does more than just look fabulous at every age; they raise millions of dollars to ensure this park, for New Yorkers and for all those who vist from around the world, will remain beautiful and preserved for future generations to enjoy. Through robust applause, Anne S. Harrison (my new idol) announced they raised over 3 million dollars this season and furthermore accepted the largest gift to date of 100 million dollars to the Conservancy by Jenny & John Paulson.

So next time you lay on the lawn and gaze up at the trees or walk over the historic bridges in Central Park taking in this sweet escape from our concrete jungle, know that these lovely women are helping keep that possible for all of us, for all the years to come.

Special thanks to Tiffany & Co. for having me as their guest~

The next three ladies are my new style icons. Chic, chic, chic.

Of course, you know who was there! 

Still in my natural beauty phase I started in Paris, I wore a very 20s inspired day dress by Primary New York and what I call a Renoir garden hat by Zac Posen. 

From the booklet above:

Central Park by the numbers…

40,000,000 annual visitors

200,000+ annual plantings

20,300 trees

9,000 benches

900+ annual volunteers

80 acres of woodlands to get lost in

58 miles of paths for leisurely strolls

55 sculptures and statues

36 bridges and arches

7 lakes and ponds

7 lawns for picnicking

4 boat landings for romance

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The Palme d’Or, or Golden Palm, the symbol of the Cannes Film Festival, has been given to the director of the best film every year since 1954. Chopard took over the creation of the award in 1998, after Pierre Viot, then president of the Cannes Film Festival, met Chopard’s co-president Caroline Scheufele. Dazzled and delighted by the creative energy of the company, he asked her to redesign the Palme d’Or. The award is now made in-house in their high jewelry department by the hand of one of their master craftsmen. The solid one-of-a-kind crystal is perfectly beveled along the edges in the shape of an emerald-cut diamond. The golden palm with its delicate heart shaped stem dances upward and shines like the sun.

We visited Chopard’s headquarters this past April in Geneva where they were working on this year’s award, and they took us through each step of the process: cutting the design in wax, making the form in gold, and shaping it to perfection before carefully assembling it to the crystal so it is ready to be delivered to this year’s 2013 Cannes Film Festival winner.

We are so excited to be going to Cannes this year with Chopard and I certainly can’t wait to see where the journey ends for this precious award!

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Kevin in his custom made Ermilio tux, I wore a full length sequin gown by Talbot Runhof with a vintage belt, Stuart Weitzman heels and Tiffany & Co. diamond ring. 

Kelly wore Nonoo NY (remember from this fairytale shoot?!) and a Tiffany & Co. pearl drop necklace worn down her back. 

…and then after party

And if anyone is looking for me this weekend, I’ll be in the theatre swooning over Leo…

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