It is a uniquely magical moment, the most glamorous event of the year. For the Cannes Festival, which Chopard has been officially partnering since 1998, the Maison’s workshops annually rise to a new pinnacle of creativity by reinventing the miracle of the Red Carpet Collection. A stunning demonstration of jewellery-making prowess lighting up a lifelong passion for the cinema and paying tribute to the actresses who embody its radiant energy during the legendary ascent of the staircase. With the opening of the Cannes Festival on 6 July 2021, Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director, Caroline Scheufele, is unveiling all 74 creations composing this collection, themed around a fabulous haven of fantasy. Paradise expresses all the dreamy richness of which Caroline Scheufele is capable, flinging wide open the doors to the palaces of the imagination.
Theatre of dreams
Each piece of jewellery stems from an emotion, each culminating from an idea in a creation. Then comes the sketch, the mosaic of precious stones, colours like destinations, and a wild desire to share. For the opening of the Cannes Festival (6 to 17 July) , Caroline Scheufele is unveiling the traditional Red Carpet Collection.. A creative universe whose texture and density unfold in the dazzling landscape of her imagination. Like a director, this keen film-lover orchestrates each of her collections around a real narrative, a master canvas within which her creations come to life and give substance to her vision.
Paradise, a haven of marvels
The Paradise-themed Red Carpet Collection 2021 takes us into a universe dear to the Maison: that of unspoilt, generous and sublime nature. A dreamlike and fertile place, permanently accessible to everyone, free to imagine its contours and to go there to recharge their batteries as they please. A ‘Paradise’ to be found within oneself, according to one’s imagination and desires. A realm of all possibilities.
When instilling a baroque, fanciful spirit into the Collection, Caroline Scheufele drew inspiration from the lush nature of the mythological or real places populating her fantasy repertoire. A bountiful Garden of Eden, where precious stones are picked like berries, where plants and animals offer their songs and spectacular colours; a secret landmark, like the island of Pantelleria, where the telluric depth of the volcanic rocks is reflected in the crystalline transparency of the waters where Caroline Scheufele loves to immerse her gaze; or a supernatural, vision of nature resembling that of the fantasy film Avatar, a metaphorical space in which to find refuge, to escape the hostility of reality and to find a new lease on life.
Among the countless references enlivening Caroline Scheufele’s majestic world, the Artistic Director has brilliantly enlisted a whole range of creative resources. She explained: “The Red Carpet Collection always gives me the opportunity to give free rein to my creativity and this year I was inspired by the idea of Paradise: I wanted our creations to invite women on a journey towards a comforting haven, an imaginary world brimming with dreams and optimism.” She continued: “There are various ways of envisaging one’s personal Paradise and I have tried to give life to these multiple worlds within the Red Carpet Collection through creations honouring fauna, flora and the finest gemstones, as well as by designing jewellery that is part of the fantasy of movies.”
“The Red Carpet Collection is a jewellery masterpiece made possible by the skill of all the artisans who pool their talents in our Haute Joaillerie ateliers. Each of these creations is a work of art in itself.”
Chopard, sculptor of wonders
Among the Chopard Haute Joaillerie collections, Red Carpet is the one that embodies the ultimate dazzlement, nourished by Caroline Scheufele’s curious and lively view of the world. This collection also highlights the extraordinary work of the Artisans who exercise their skills in Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie’s Geneva workshops, the largest in Switzerland. From design to volume, from goldsmithing to gemsetting craftsmanship, these Artisans combine their talents in giving life to this collection of 74 creations corresponding to the number of years since the Cannes Festival first began.
Each year, the challenge of creating a collection of this magnitude in the same workshop is taken up by the Artisans, who apply their own genius and expertise to each creation. In this respect, the Red Carpet Collection symbolises the quintessence of classic jewellery-making expertise and carefully preserved tradition, nurtured by a fresh eye and a genuine avant-garde spirit. It is in this commitment of heart and mind, expressed through the nobility of hand craftsmanship, that the emotion of this new collection unfolds, impelled by the fertile spirit of fabulous odysseys.
