Michelle Williams Arrives at the Met Gala in History-Making Chanel Jewelry
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Is there a better piece of jewelry to wear to an exhibit titled “Sleeping Beauties” than one designed to awaken an entire industry?
Tonight at the annual Met Ball to benefit the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelle Williams wore a reproduction of a diamond fringe necklace originally designed for Coco Chanel’s history-making 1932 collection. It was made to be a boon to a struggling industry during a European economic depression and was the only fine jewelry collection Coco Chanel designed herself.
It wasn’t until 1993 that Chanel launched its own jewelry collection—and tonight, several actresses walking the red carpet wore pieces from it. See: Penelope Cruz, Tessa Thompson, Riley Keough.
In another nod to history, the fringe necklace was worn as originally shown, draped across the forehead like a crown. Williams and her stylist Kate Young have consistently displayed what we here at T&C like to call Jewelry Ambition. Remember that pearl and yellow gold Belperron torque necklace Williams wore to the 2023 Gotham Awards? Or that Fred Leighton vintage piece she wore with the yellow Vera Wang at the 2006 Oscars?
Who else believed in jewelry ambition? Mademoiselle Chanel. The original 1932 collection was shown in Chanel’s private apartment. And with her diamonds in the shape of stars and fringes and comets she had a mission: “During the economic recession there emerged an instinctive desire for authenticity. If I have chosen diamonds,” she said, “it is because they represent the greatest value in the smallest volume.”
Beauty to the rescue in times of crisis. Sound familiar?
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