Cartier’s Garden

 

cartier-615

I try to spend my life photographing beauty. It is what brings me the greatest joy and to that which I want cast my gaze upon for eternity. Of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in the world, nothing will ever outshine what nature gives to us. How she makes woman with delicate skin and blushing cheeks, the colors of an exploding flower at the height of its bloom and that exceptional gift of gemstones and diamonds like stars that have fallen from the heavens to earth.

Recently we had lunch with Cartier at The Modern where we were first introduced to to their Étourdissant collection, a beautiful french word for “splendid”. The high jewelry collection is Cartier’s showcase of the most extraordinary, one of a kind pieces that can take the Maison years to create with the finest precious stones in the word. A collection so spectacular it is dizzying, like life itself if we watch with our eyes wide open. As we talked about the collection I was enchanted with the source of inspiration: the south of France, the Côte d’Azur, light and shadows, radiance and hues and the painters from France that created such vibrant works of beauty as a window into a world of natural wonders.

This thought of natural beauty stuck to me and I let images flood my mind and take me into an afternoon reverie. I became engrossed with the idea of creating Renoir’s garden.  A place of dappled color, untamed beauty, a young girl with iridescent paper-like skin dreaming of all to come in life lost in her thoughts as she whiles away the afternoon. She is innate beauty nestled in a bouquet of nature’s glorious shimmering colors. We watch her, with all the luxury of time, her jewels that seem to float off her delicate skin and glitter in the warm, late afternoon light. She lives in a world of splendor changed only be the gentle breeze that sweeps through kissing her cheeks and carrying her thoughts away.

The house of Cartier has reminded me that we must celebrate beauty, treasure color, create contrasts and seek character for it is the explosion of these things that make the world étourdissant.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_01

Étourdissant Cartier Collection earrings, platinum, diamonds & pink chiffon gown with flower aplique by Marchesa

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_02 “Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.”– Pierre-Auguste RenoirRenoir_Garden_Cartier_03

Étourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet, platinum, sapphires, diamonds & a light blue chiffon and sheer lace gown by Maria Lucia Hohan.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_04

“You come to nature with all your theories, and she knocks them all flat.”- Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_05

Étourdissant Cartier Collection ring, 18k yellow gold, opal, colored sapphires, black lacquer, diamonds with vintage Gucci grey silk chiffon gown from Cloak Wardrobe under a rainbow pastel chiffon skirt by Marchesa. Renoir_Garden_Cartier_06

Étourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet, platinum, 18k yellow gold, 55.91 carat peridot, onyx, diamonds with emerald green silk chiffon gown by Naeem Khan.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_07

“The work of art must seize upon you, wrap you up in itself and carry you away. It is the means by which the artist conveys his passion. It is the current which he puts forth which sweeps you along in his passion.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_08 Renoir_Garden_Cartier_09

Étourdissant Cartier Collection ring, 18k white gold, pink diamonds, brown diamonds, white diamonds in a vintage baby pink silk gown by John Galliano from Cloak Wardrobe.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_10

“I look at a nude. There are myriads of tiny tints. I must find the ones that will make the flesh on my canvas live and quiver.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_11

Étourdissant Cartier Collection earrings, 18k yellow gold, imperial topazes, colored sapphires, black lacquer, diamonds along with an Étourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet, 18k yellow gold, onyx, diamonds and nude silk chiffon gown by vintage Alexander McQueen from Cloak Wardrobe.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_12

“I like a painting which makes me want to stroll in it.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_13

Étourdissant Cartier Collection necklace, platinum, diamonds and pink silk chiffon gown by YSL from Cloak Wardrobe

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_14

“Why shouldn’t art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_15

Étourdissant Cartier Collection bracelet, platinum, sapphires, diamonds & a light blue chiffon and sheer lace gown by Maria Lucia Hohan.

Renoir_Garden_Cartier_16

“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” 
– Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Cartier Étourdissant collection shot at Jack Studios in New York City || Modeled by Emma Bartlett || Styled by Krisana Sotelo || Floral Set Design by Putnam & Putnam || Prop Stylist by Zio & Sons || Makeup by Christine Cherbonnier || Hair by Michael Thomas Lollo || Nails by Angel Williams

Some of the Pierre-Auguste Renoir paintings that inspired this story:

Femme avec parasol dans un jardin || Girl with Daises || The Bathers || La Promenade || The Lovers || Dance at Bougival || By the Seashore || Nude 1910 || In the Garden || Young Girl Bathing || Reclining Nude || In the Meadow || Young Woman Seated || The fisherman

&

Renoir the Film

Meet Jasmine Poulton

JasminePoulton__02Yesterday we played out one of my personal fantasies of glamour and fashion high atop the city skyline in a Mandarin Oriental suite with our British Wilhelmina model Jasmine Poulton. We were talking about dreams, the way so  many come to New York to find them or fulfill them. I asked Jasmine about her own life, what brought her to our city, a place where it seems everyone is from somewhere, and how she ended up on this beautiful fall day in front of my lens…

JasminePoulton__03

New York is a city of dreams…my New York dream is….

Leaving every other weekend.

When I model I….

 Act.

The reason I moved to New York is…

To be free.

I am most inspired by…

 Nature, music, love, a mind’s endless ideas.

JasminePoulton__04

Fashion is…

More than what’s current.

Women are…

One of nature’s greatest beauties & powers.

Continue reading “Meet Jasmine Poulton”

Mandarin Oriental Dreams

Mandarin_Oriental_02 (1)

High atop Manhattan’s skyline, overlooking Central Park and the Hudson River sits the proud Mandarin Oriental, glittering in the golden setting sun of an early autumn day. I love New York this time of year, I love the fantasy of glamour, a world where fashion, culture, business and design all collide into spectacular moments. When I was young and I dreamed of New York it was always like this – overlooking that powerful skyline that still mesmerizes me, in diamonds and designer gowns. Here, model and artist Jasmine Poulton brings my dreams to life in the Mandarin Oriental’s Oriental Suite in Donna Karan‘s very special 30th anniversary fall 2014 collection (remember when I took you backstage) and Chopard diamonds from the high jewelry collection

 Mandarin_Oriental_03 Mandarin_Oriental_04 Mandarin_Oriental_05 Mandarin_Oriental_06 Mandarin_Oriental_07 Continue reading “Mandarin Oriental Dreams”

Chopard’s Red Carpet Glamour

Cara Delevingne

cara delevingne

When Cara Delevingne stepped onto the red carpet at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, she was instantly proclaimed best dressed in her lace Burberry gown, smoky eye and, framing her famous pucker, priceless Chopard diamonds like waterfalls off her ears and a garden around her neck. She was in that moment the modern day “pretty woman” in diamonds and lace.

Chopard has a long-running presence at the Cannes Film Festival: from the creation of the Palme d’Or awarded to the best director and Trophée Chopard awarded to emerging talents to dressing the world’s most beautiful women and talented actresses in their priceless red carpet collection of jewels unveiled each year at the festival.

We were privileged enough to get to see a few of the pieces up close, under the watchful eye of guards on that beautiful terrace up in the sky, before the pieces found their way onto that famous red carpet…

Chopard High Jewelry

Above: necklace worn by Sonam Kapoor

Cara Delevingne

“I very much wanted to pay tribute to the finest sentiments. The red carpet collection is sparkling with shimmering colors, including bright red accents like the fire of passion, as well as heart-shaped precious stones, one of my favourite cuts.”
– Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s co-President

Chopard High Jewelry Cara Delevingne

Above: diamond choker worn by Fan Bing Bing

Chopard High Jewelry

Above: diamond earrings worn by Caroline Scheufele

Cara Delevingne