Chanel has returned to its roots for its latest release of fine jewelry, but at last night’s launch of the collection in New York, it went on a cosmic journey. Inside a deluxe tent the French house had erected next to MoMA, the walls and carpets were black, the lighting at a bare minimum. The sparkling goods were on display in a domed back room, under a projection of the night sky—no doubt the whole setup left many wishing upon a star.
“It reminds me of an amazing summer I had on a sailing boat in the Mediterranean watching shooting stars all night, “Giovanna Battaglia said. Presumably, she didn’t spend that summer surrounded by security guards or diamonds strung together like brilliant constellations. (The New York tent is the collection’s final stop after Paris and Beijing, and it will remain open for a week or so for private appointments.) Inspired by Coco Chanel’s 1932 Bijoux de Diamants collection, this one also incorporates Mademoiselle’s beloved lion motif (she was a Leo) for the first time in the history of the house’s haute joaillerie.
A black-and-white ad for the original collection—shot in Chanel’s opulent Rue Saint-Honoré apartment, no less—played on a large screen that guests passed by on their way into dinner. Diane Kruger and January Jones sat front and center, the latter sharing photos of her toddler on her phone. “There will be a lot of interior designing in my future,” Lindsey Wixson predicted nearby. Having recently completed a Brooklyn move-in with her boyfriend, the top model’s latest project is converting grain silos into houses for herself and her family in her native Kansas. That, and getting a new watch, she said. What time was it, anyway? She squinted at the one Chanel had loaned her and announced, “It’s party time.”
