Cartier Etourdissant dazzles in Miami

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It was a perfect night. The air, so warm and sticky the way summers on the east coast play back like flickering memories of an old movie scene. Cartier had come to Miami to unveil the newest precious pieces of their high jewelry collection “Cartier Etourdissant” along with priceless vintage creations of years past and dazzling standards of this modern era.

Being invited to galas such as these are always personal princess moments. An armed guard, not unlike a fairy godmother, shows up and adorns you in diamonds for the evening leaving you swanning around the room as if you were floating in a glass of champagne. I don’t know what it is about diamonds at night, which sparkle off our warm bodies so alive with breath and wonderment, but I just always feel as if they look like someone caught the twinkling stars and wrapped them around us in a cloak of fairy dust.

This collection is especially sentimental to me. Not only for the history of Cartier, who most notably made the setting for the Hope Diamond and adorned the heads of Royalty for some of their biggest moments in history, but because it was inspired by the French Riviera, one of my favorite places on earth. There is nothing like the light and artistic inspirations of France and in the designs of these pieces they transform light like a quiet afternoon dancing in the sun along the Côte d’Azur. I could stare into the pieces forever remember the best moments in life and dreaming of all the ones I desire for the future.

It was glamorous. Hosted at the new Faena Saxony Hotel in Miami along the turquoise sea it felt like a modern reenactment of a Jay Gatsby party which must have been the inspiration for director Baz Luhrmann when he designed the interior of the hotel.  Faena Miami has been waiting for this moment to be brought to life, to be filled with the sounds of champagne bottles popping, distant laughter, models poised in priceless jewels, jazz music and the salty taste of caviar. Maybe it was the setting that made me feel so nostalgic or the glittering private crowd there mirroring the moonlight off the ocean but I looked around the room wondered how could anything bad ever happen in a world that can create this much beauty out of human vision and love.

In a red Dior dress I watched the room ebb and flow and thought of that line from The Great Gatsby: “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” and smiled, for I can always go back to this memory on a cold winter day and recall that life can really sparkle if we open our eyes.

Below, I invite you to experience some of my favorite moments and unforgettable pieces from the gala by Cartier~

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MET Gala 2015

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Once again I had the privilege to cover the red carpet with the Met Museum‘s social media team capturing what is the coined “the party of the year” for the museum’s new fashion exhibition China Through the Looking Glass. From gowns that took  two years to create, to ones that appear completely see-though, it was one breathtaking moment after the next and I’m happy to share with you images from the front lines, captured using my iPhone 6, of my favorite Met Gala 2015 moments….

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School of American Ballet

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Last night was the School of American Ballet‘s Winter Ball in the David H. Koch theater of Lincoln Center. It was a very special night for Kevin and I as for the past couple of months we have been working closely with the team at SAB making a series of ballet cinemagraphs as well as a short film on the lives of SAB students to be shown here on this evening to the distinguished guests that donated / raised over a million dollars last night to aid in the scholarships that allow less fortunate students full of talent to attend this world class school.

It’s not often we get to experience our work “out in the world” or be present when someone sees it for the first time. It was a thrill! Walking into the gallery under dancing cinemagraphs delighting the guests in perfect poise and flawless execution was so charming and I felt, as I sat there, very respectful the discipline and study of dance. It was a great honor to be in the professional position to donate our time and talent to support something we greatly believe in, the arts, and to which we relate as far as the student experience is concerned- coming to New York with a dream and a whole lot of passion.

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So honored to wear this gorgeous Ralph Lauren silk gown, diamond earrings by the event’s main sponsor Van Cleef & Arpels and a clutch by the the Winter Ball’s event co-chair Amanda Brotman from her evening bag line Amanda Pearl 

(remember the last time I wore a Ralph Lauren gown in Paris…)

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The School of American Ballet

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A starry night, a winter ball, a celebration of The School of American Ballet‘s 80 years of dedication to the field of ballet...under the golden roof of Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, former ballet dancers, patrons, alumni, board members, corporate and social communities gathered to raise money to provide student scholarships as well as to maintain the school’s state of the art facilities and faculty. The School of American Ballet was established in 1934 by legendary choreographer George Balanchine and philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein with a dream of creating the American classical ballet company, which is today the premier ballet academy in the United States, training the highest of elite dancers at the New York City Ballet and other leading U.S. and international ballet companies.

In a room full of gowns, we sipped on cocktails, dined on classic American fare with tables aglow with starbursts and watched a beautiful performance by the advanced students of the school, choreographed by Silas Farley. It was a dazzling night, but when is it not when it’s made of ballet dreams and Lincoln Center sparkle?…

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An Evening with Ralph Lauren

It was only a year ago Kevin and I headed out in a tux and Valentino gown to LeBal in Paris. One of those nights, the ones you’re aware you’ll never forget. It was his birthday – we rode Veleb’s at 2am after the ball to drink champagne and split a French burger. It was one of the best nights of our life, riding home past an empty courtyard of the Louvre and in the shadow of night – silhouettes of iconic buildings guiding our way.

So here we are again. Another beautiful crisp fall evening in Paris, another view of a sparkling Eiffel Tower reflecting off our champagne glasses and catching the crystal droplets of this evening’s earrings. This time was different though…this time, we were celebrating the arts. Celebrating the luxury we have as Americans at the height of our success to use our fortune for good. Models, artists, celebrities, and royalty came out on this autumn night to support Ralph Lauren, congratulate him on the beautiful world which he has created for us all in a spectacular showcase of his fall collection on the runway, and say thank you for his latest commitment to restore the L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, one of the most influential art schools in France, Amphitheatre d’honneur in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Pres. The renovation will help bring the institution’s teaching capabilities into the 21st century while also preserving the classical Beaux-Arts style for future generations. We raised our glasses and toasted: to the new future that comes from saving the past.

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