Swarovski: Paris and the stars

My last visit to Paris was nothing short of sensational. Thanks to my friend Yannou Collart, lady PR extra-ordinaire to international celebrities and global society’s mega personnae, I received several invitations to the season’s star-studded happenings.

The most memorable was the launch of Daniel Swarovski’s concept store in the Saint Germain area where I met Daniel Swarovski himself and a lot of other name-droppable celebs that I never dreamed of meeting in my life! But with a fairy godmother like Yannou, who only has to wave her magic wand to make things happen, my Paris sojourn that I thought would be restful and relaxing turned into something spectacular. I asked Daniel Swarovski for an interview and not only did he grant me one, he also gave me a gorgeous present which I will treasure for a long time – an exquisite crystal bracelet imbedded on braided leather. To show my appreciation for his generosity, I brought my sisters and some friends to his store and we bought up a storm! The new lines of accessories (earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, bags, lariats, belts etc.) were so eye-catching and unique, so irresistible to even the most jaded shoppers like my bunch.

The Saint Germain store is a picture of elegance and sophistication. From floor to ceiling, materials are soft, warm, light and discreet. The walls are dressed in ecru lacquer and gilded wood while the floor is in natural oak. The arrangement and size of the jewellery and accessory collections ensure that they are very striking within their setting. The austere lines of the furnishings, very classical in a sense, further enhance the collection. The various collections of accessories and objects are presented on silver metal supports as though floating in mid-air. A touch of icy gray blue in the textiles effectively sets off the rest of the décor.

We spent three hours in that store trying the handcrafted pieces that the movie stars wore in the last Cannes Film Festival. In the end, after making our numerous choices, fantasy became reality when the cash register showed no mercy and the major dent in our pockets made our wallets lighter by a lot of kilos. The allure of crystals is truly seductive even to the most resolute tightwads!

The name Swarovski is synonymous with crystals. The famous Austrian Swarovski Group was the world’s first producer of cut crystal stones and components. But in 1989, Daniel Swarovski, heir to the Swarovski empire, put a couture label to his crystals and decided to branch out to fashion accessories. His collection of evening bags, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings gave a new meaning to fashion accessories because of their elegance and originality. With delicately handcrafted net bags, clutch bags in crystal mesh, and sophisticated jewelry, Swarovski’s high technology combines with the skills of French craftsmen to give a wealth of extraordinarily creative accessories, all with their own identity and character.

Daniel Swarovski has been the star innovator of this new line. His concept is to celebrate women and their beauty, primarily using movie stars. For more than four years now, his crystal evening bags and jewelry have been playing their part in the magic and fantasy of the world’s most prestigious film events like the Oscars in LA, the "Cesar" ceremony and the International Film Festival at Cannes. Movie stars like Laetitia Casta, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Nathalie Baye, Catherine Zeta Jones, Cameron Diaz, Rossana Arquette, Patricia Arquette, Michelle Yeo, Ashley Judd, Cameron Diaz, Charlotte Rampling, among others, have all worn the Swarovski fashion accessories.

He also branched out to spectacle frames and sunglasses line in 1997 when he launched the Daniel Swarovski Crystal Eyewear. He also has a line of designer objects, Daniel Swarovski Home Accessories which was launched in 2002. He expresses all his creativity in "Couture Spirit" and sophisticated glamour through international, top quality campaigns featuring Laetitia Casta, their brand ambassadress since January 2001. Radiant, attractive and very feminine, Laetitia was chosen because she embodies the Swarovski spirit to perfection. He says that "seductiveness, femininity, glamour and sophistication are my leitmotifs that attract countless women. I want women to sparkle with a crystalline aura like stars, through the magic of crystals."

Swarovski Designers

Rosemarie Le Gallais is in charge of design for the Daniel Swarovski Paris line. After spending 15 years working with Karl Lagerfeld, and with her finger firmly on the pulse of all fashion trends, Le Gallais then decided to concentrate on the world of accessories. Playing on the myriad facets of crystal, she has made it her special focus of creation for Daniel Swarovski. With her, crystal is decked out in leather, fur, satin, wood, metal, and flannel. Working on a genuine identity, according to the couturier ethic, Le Gallais avoids all the habitual paths and sets crystal in motion. But most strikingly, she creates a real synergy between clothes and accessories enabling women to transform a simple outfit into something sensational.

Le Gallais is responsible for designing the Star Collector, a luxurious evening bag made of an innovative material, crystal skin. At the moment, only 10 actresses possess one – Nicole Kidman, Salma Hayek, Diane Lane, Julianne Moore, Renee Zellweger, Meryl Streep, Catherine Zeta Jones, Kathy Bates, Queen Latifah, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
According to Le Gallais, "Accessories are now the most important element in a woman’s appearance. The Daniel Swarovski Paris spirit lies in casting a spell over the ordinary, transforming it into something brilliant and sophisticated.

For its Home Accessories line, Darko Mladenovic is the principal designer. Mladenovic considers the whole collection as a single entity, accentuating the luminous effects of light. "Crystal is a receptacle, a diffuser of light. It brings light from the invisible into the visible world. It reveals it. The objects seem to capture rays from the sun, revealing them in all their splendid colors, like sculptures in light."

The Daniel Swarovski Home Accessories collection consists of 12 unique and functional objects in cut crystal. These innovative and original designs (vases, tidies, inkstands, paperweights, lamps, objets d’art and fountain pens) reinterpret crystal in a modern spirit. Making frequent play on radial and parallel facets, the objects are the very embodiment of purity and simplicity in their design. Crystal is associated with cherry wood, chrome, leather and solid silver, giving the objects a modern style simultaneously harmonious and rich in contrasts.