From darkness, comes light. And so it was with Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection for this year, which was themed to “Contes de Fées” (or Fairy Tales in French) in a bid to bring some light to tumultuous times. As Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele tells us, she started thinking of the theme for the 2024 collection while she was still at last year’s Cannes Film Festival (to which the brand is the official partner) when news headlines read about the wars between “a lot of areas in the world—Ukraine and Russia, Gaza and Israel”. That is when she came upon the idea to delve back into the stuff of happy childhoods and produce a collection that would bring positivity, warmth, and dreams to people. “Because that’s what gets us going, and keeps us going,” she explains.
Related article: Creative Director Marie-Laure Cérède Delves Into Cartier's Haute Joaillerie Timepieces
It was an idea that didn’t need a lot of convincing. Soon after relaying the message to her designers and the High Jewellery Atelier, she noticed that her team had their heads buried in books to pick elements from their favourite fairy tales. And that is how this year’s Red Carpet collection came to be. Comprising 77 high jewellery creations (one for each year that the Cannes Film Festival has been in existence), the collection features an array of wondrous flora, fauna, and mythical figures.
The wide-reaching branches of an oak tree are transformed into a necklace—complete with acorns, small animals and insects—which took over six months of work to bring to life. “This was challenging [to produce] because it needs to sit properly on the neck,” says Scheufele. “So it’s half solid and half flexible, and it’s light and airy as well as voluminous with a mix of titanium and gold.”
Related article: Bvlgari's Tubogas Takes Centre Stage In New Collection
Two darling green frogs with emerald bellies guard a crown encrusted with clear and yellow diamonds, while a sizable 17.7-carat round-cut rubellite tops a ring. For a brooch, an adorable elfin figure trots his way to the shoemaker’s house in his sparkling black diamond cape and wide-brimmed ruby hat. Accompanying him is a diamond necklace with a detachable diamond clown brooch—a familiar figure for anyone who is versed in Chopard-lore.
Related article: Discover The Most Coveted Jewellery Collections Of The Season
“The clown was my first-ever design for Chopard when I was 16,” she shares. “I used to love to go to the circus and watch the clowns more than anything because they make people happy. So that’s how the clown came about. It’s a very iconic design [for Chopard] and I think it’s about time we
relaunched it and gave it a red carpet treatment.”
Brimming with vibrant colours and fantastical forms, Chopard’s 2024 Red Carpet collection is what happy endings are made of.
All photos courtesy of Chopard.