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    Best Oscars Red Carpet Looks: Emma Stone, Colman Domingo and More

    At the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, the red carpet showed not only its true color but also its reputation as a vehicle for elegant, over-the-top and even political fashion.Though there were bright moments — Cynthia Erivo’s dress was a “Wicked” shade of green, Taylor Zakhar Perez wore powder blue Prada — many of the gowns and tuxedos that graced the carpet were black. Some stars’ ensembles harked back to attire they wore at prior Oscars ceremonies. Marlee Matlin said that her shimmering lilac Rodarte gown nodded to the dress she wore when she won the best actress award in 1987, and Lupita Nyong’o went with a pale bluish-silver Armani dress inspired by the color of the gown she wore when she won the best supporting actress award in 2014.Sparkling brooches were among the most visible accessories on both men and women, as were tiny red pins calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The Israel-Hamas war also influenced action off the carpet, with protests taking place as celebrities were arriving at the ceremony.Of all the fashion on display at the Oscars, these 19 looks stood out as doing the most.Billie Eilish: Most Young Old Hollywood!A power skirt suit.Nina Westervelt for The New York TimesThe Gen Z singer, a songwriter for “Barbie,” dialed up the glamour with flowing hair, a houndstooth Chanel bag and a tweed skirt suit with an Artists4Ceasefire pin on the jacket.Lupita Nyong’o: Most Icy Cool!Shining like a diamond.Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Italian Jewelry Houses Shine on Venice’s Red Carpet

    Small independents emphasize their strengths at the film festival.Some of the biggest jewelry houses raise their public profiles as major sponsors of film festivals, like Chopard at Cannes, Cartier in Venice, and Bulgari, which is supporting the Toronto festival for the first time in September. But what are the options for small independent jewelers that can’t afford such expensive affiliations?Several Italian brands, including Nardi and Vhernier, have found opportunities on the red carpet at the Venice International Film Festival. The event, scheduled this year from Aug. 31 to Sept. 10, is also called Venice Mostra (in English, Show) and is part of the Venice Biennale art exhibition.“Big brands have monopolized film festivals,” said Alberto Nardi, a third-generation member of his family’s jewelry business. “We cannot compete, so we have to play with our strengths, which are, firstly, that we are here in Venice and, secondly, that we do something original, different.”Last year, for example, Cécile de France, a Belgian actress in the cast of “Illusions Perdues,” wore Nardi earrings to a festival photo call for the movie. The set was made of yellow gold and enamel, accented with turquoises and pink sapphires, and called Maschera (in English, Mask). Its design was inspired by rings decorated with masked faces in enamel that were popular in the 1700s in Venice.The actor Cécile de France wearing Nardi earrings accented with sapphires and turquoises at a photo call for the film “Illusions Perdues.”Yara Nardi/Reuters“We get close to talents we respect and who appreciate us and genuinely enjoy wearing our jewels,” Mr. Nardi said.The Milan-based brand Vhernier takes a similar approach. “We do not have any contracts, and we do not pay anyone. Celebrities who wear Vhernier do so simply because they like it,” Isabella Traglio, the brand’s deputy general manager, said in a video call.The house’s sculptural pieces — such as the rose-colored Verso ear clips worn by the English-French actress Stacy Martin at the festival in 2018, and the white gold Giunco bracelet worn by the Italian actress Matilde Gioli in 2016 — reflect the orientation of the house, which was founded by a sculptor and a goldsmith in 1984.Vhernier has had some big-screen exposure, too: Jane Fonda wore its styles in the 2018 movie “Book Club.” Usually, film producers ask jewelers to pay for such placement, but Ms. Traglio said the opportunity arose thanks to Ms. Fonda, who has often worn the brand, and there was no monetary transaction.The actress Stacy Martin wears Vhernier’s sculptural ear clips at the 75th Annual Venice Film Festival in 2018.Mondadori Portfolio, via Getty Images“We can’t and don’t play the game of big brands that usually go for big celebrities,” Ms. Traglio said. “We lean to emerging talents.”But sometimes such emerging talents can push a brand into the spotlight.“Brands that throw a piece of jewelry on someone will most likely never recover the investment,” Daniel Langer, chief executive of the brand development and strategy company Équité and a professor of luxury strategy at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., wrote in an email. “However, if it is done smartly — if values align and enough content can be created and used on social media — then a single event is amplified into a bigger communication opportunity.”The Milan-based brand Rubeus said that was what happened last year when the house lent its Hexagon earrings and Cabochon ring set with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds to the Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli for the Venice festival debut of “The Catholic School.”The buzz surrounding the controversial film, inspired by the 1975 kidnapping and murder of two young girls in Italy, attracted attention to the actress, who played a leading role, and to the jewelry on social media, as well as in Italian versions of Vogue and Elle. “Social media are taking the event closer to everyone and potential clients,” Nataliya Bondarenko, the company’s creative director, wrote in an email.As a result, the brand said, interest was revived in its inaugural high jewelry collection, which was introduced in 2019, but had little opportunity to be highlighted during the early days of the pandemic.Rubeus’s presence in Venice during such a prominent occasion also inspired the brand to create a set of fragrances and to continue a series of capsule collections of accessories and clothing begun in 2017 in collaboration with Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua, a company specializing in fabrics that was founded in the 19th century in Venice.The Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli at the 2021 Venice festival debut of “The Catholic School.”Claudio Onorati/EPA, via ShutterstockOf course, Venice has been a muse for large luxury houses, too. Last year, for example, Dolce & Gabbana showcased its high jewelry and haute couture collections in the city.And this year, to celebrate a philanthropic donation to restore a pulpit in St. Mark’s Basilica that was damaged by devastating floods in 2019, Pomellato is presenting a collection of rings made in porphyry, which will be available only in its Venice boutique (In 2021, the brand dressed Tiffany Haddish for the film festival’s red carpet.)“Venice is the most magical festival, but it is logistically tough,” the London-based stylist Aimée Croysdill wrote in an email. She has dressed Laura Haddock for Venice, and also has experience with the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival and the British Academy Film Awards, commonly known as the BAFTAs.“Getting on and off jetties into bobbing boats means you cannot do huge heavy gowns that go on for meters,” she wrote. “That kind of opulence is usually kept for Cannes.”Such logistical difficulties are a boon for some Italian jewelry houses, like Crivelli, that know how to cope with the city’s complexities — and have earned reputations that ensure their creations won’t be replaced at the last minute.“Being close to Venice has allowed us to be present on the red carpet constantly, and this continuous engagement has strengthened our relationships with the talents and their entourage, who know that they can count on us,” Alessia Crivelli, marketing manager of the family business, wrote in an email. The house, known for its gold heart-shaped pendants, was founded by her father in the 1970s in the jewelry-making town of Valenza, between Milan and Turin, and has a flagship store in Milan.For the Venice festival, Crivelli accessorized the Norwegian film director and actress Mona Fastvold in 2020 and 2021, as well as Naomi Watts and Raffey Cassidy in 2018.Crivelli accessorized the Norwegian film director and actress Mona Fastvold for the 78th Venice International Film Festival in 2021.John Phillips/Getty ImagesThe relationship between the festival and small Italian jewelry brands may seem unusual, considering Cartier’s sponsorship role, but the French house appears to be more interested in the festival’s cultural connections than its red carpet opportunities. “Our partnership with La Mostra goes beyond the red carpet,” Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s chief marketing officer, said in a video interview. He stressed how film is an art form that is close to Cartier, and how the festival provides a culturally rich platform to entertain clients and friends of the jewelry house.Roberto Cicutto, president of the Venice Biennale, echoed the comment in an email: “We are working together not only in terms of communication and hospitality for their guests, but also thinking about content,” referring to the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award, a prize given to someone who is considered to have made a significant contribution to contemporary filmmaking. It was first awarded in 2007, but Cartier began presenting it in 2021.It is not unusual for brands to want to associate themselves with the art of film, Luca Solca, a luxury analyst at the research firm Sanford C. Bernstein, wrote in an email: “Art is seen as a blueprint for personal luxury goods, given its universal language and its disconnect to cost.”But Cartier undoubtedly was pleased last year when Jennifer Lopez appeared at the festival, draped in Cartier diamonds and Ben Affleck. According to an email from Alison Bringé, chief marketing officer of the media analytics company Launchmetrics, Ms. Lopez’s social media post about the visit was worth $2 million in media impact to Cartier.Yet, Mr. Nardi expressed sadness at how marketing machines have overwhelmed the magic of cinema — and of the jewelry world. “I think it debases our products,” he said.“I grew up listening to the stories of Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly coming to Venice and buying jewelry in our store, but that world has now gone.” More

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    What Will Be the New Carrie Necklace?

    Jewelry designers working with the “Sex and the City” reboot hope their creations have a chance.Hardly a day goes by now without some new promotional photo or online reference to the “Sex and the City” reboot so, as Carrie Bradshaw herself would say, “I couldn’t help but wonder: What will be the new Carrie necklace?”For those of you who don’t remember — or were too young for the original series that ran from 1998 to 2004 — Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, had a gold necklace displaying her name in flowing script.“It cost, like, nothing,” the character said in one episode when she thought she had lost the piece. But the nameplate necklace became one of the show’s enduring product links, like Manolo Blahnik stilettos — and even symbolized Carrie’s rediscovery of self when, in the series finale, she found it in her vintage Dior purse.It’s early days yet as the reboot — called “And Just Like That …” after another Carrie catchphrase — doesn’t premiere on HBO Max until later this year. But Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, its costume designers, have selected jewelry ranging from a Bulgari Serpenti Tubogas watch (as much as $50,000 in some metals) to an elastic bracelet hand-sewn from an old tablecloth and pinned with vintage rhinestone brooches by the Berlin-based design duo Rianna + Nina (450 euros, or $530).The elastic bracelet with brooches designed by Rianna + NinaMost of the creations, even customized pieces, were lent for filming, but the series production did buy some.Neither Ms. Rogers nor Mr. Santiago are doing interviews yet, as an email from an HBO media relations manager said: “August is just too early since we don’t debut until later this year.” (Although the designers do have a “live from the set” Instagram page, @andjustlikethatcostumes, with more than 54,000 followers.)But some jewelry makers are talking about their creations selected for the series.One front-runner for the next Carrie necklace could be a $595 turquoise and malachite rope “because the necklace is really visible” around Ms. Parker’s neck in the official publicity still for the new series, said Allison Fry, the necklace’s maker, who founded the Fry Powers brand in 2018.(By mid-August the necklace had sold out at MatchesFashion, according to an email from the retailer.)Ms. Parker, center, as Carrie Bradshaw, wearing the Fry Powers turquoise and malachite rope necklace, with Cynthia Nixon, left, as Miranda, and Kristin Davis as Charlotte.via HBO MAXThe Fry Powers turquoise and malachite necklace that may be a front-runner in the Carrie necklace competition.Ms. Fry, 34, said she created the rope’s shimmering pattern by mixing and matching 72 beads, comparing the process to “when you are thinking about putting an outfit together and seeing what works.” She also made two other pieces for Carrie: a violet enamel ring accented with a baroque pearl and a violet enamel cuff.Another contender, seen in paparazzi photos: a gold necklace with a charm in the shape of New York State.Not that the rest of the central characters won’t have striking pieces of their own, like the two white diamond pavé hearts on a round link chain made by Jennifer Fisher and lent to the series for Charlotte York, played by Kristin Davis.Customized on the reverse with the initials of Charlotte’s two on-screen daughters (L for Lily Goldenblatt, played by Cathy Ang, and R for Rose Goldenblatt, played by Alexa Swinton), each of the hearts has 39 diamonds and took two weeks to make, Ms. Fisher said.“I don’t know if they’ll ever flip them over while they are shooting,” she said.The character Charlotte wears hearts by Jennifer Fisher adorned with the initials of her children.In the two “Sex and the City” feature films that debuted in 2008 and 2010, Ms. Fisher’s designs at one time or another were worn by all four lead characters, which included Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, and Miranda Hobbes, played by Cynthia Nixon. (Ms. Cattrall isn’t participating in the new series.)But, Ms. Fisher said, she believes jewelry can have more impact on television because “people tend to rewatch episodes of a television series.”Designers say that necklaces worn by new cast members also might be contenders for Carrie-level fame.There is the chunky red polyester chain necklace by the Danish brand Monies (pronounced MON-yus) worn by the Park Avenue mother and documentarian Lisa Todd Wexley, played by Nicole Ari Parker of “Empire.”The €630 necklace has garnered more than 1,200 likes on the Instagram fan page @justlikethatcloset and prompted Grazia magazine to declare that Lisa “is going to be the show’s new ambassador for power necklaces.”Ms. Parker with Chris Noth on the set of “And Just Like That …” in Chelsea in early August.James Devaney/GC Images, via Getty ImagesThe Rosa de la Cruz ebony bracelet.It may be a Carrie bracelet that replaces the Carrie necklace as, according to the London jewelry designer Rosa de la Cruz, 51, a piece becomes iconic depending on when it’s seen as well as who wears it.And her chunky ebony and 18-karat gold chain bracelet — listed at 2,595 British pounds, or $3,590 and purchased by the production company — was worn by Carrie in the series’s official publicity photograph as well as in the first scene between Carrie and her husband, Mr. Big, played by Chris Noth.“It’s the equivalent of being on the front cover of a magazine,” said Ms. de la Cruz, adding, “her fashion choices are the ones that get the most attention.”Cases in point: Carrie’s scene with Big posted by @andjustlikethathbo on Instagram on Aug. 3 received 14,440 views within 24 hours. And on TikTok there have been almost 37 million views of #andjustlikethat. Little wonder that user @letty0531 commented: “I feel like we’re gonna know the whole story by the time they finish filming.”Social media has been stalking news about the new series, such as the Instagram fan page @justlikethatcloset that Victoria Bazalinchuk, 23, a teacher in Odessa, Ukraine, created July 10. She now has more than 80,000 followers.“There were a few brands that contacted me, saying certain characters wore/will be wearing their pieces. For instance, Carrie’s new favorite brand Fry Powers, or Lisa’s Ana Srdic rings,” Ms. Bazalinchuk wrote in an email. “And of course sometimes followers find the items and send them to me.” (She said she became a “Sex and the City” fan after watching her mother’s DVD box set of the series, as “I was quite a kid when the original series aired.”)Her site is not the only one fueling fan anticipation. For example, on Instagram, @everyoutfitonsatc has 711,000 followers for its satirical take on the series. And when Ms. Parker posted on Instagram about the first script read-through, @system_bleu commented that she cannot wait for the new show. “Just finished the series — AGAIN … for the 13th time. This is huge,” she wrote. “The show spoke to so many of us and it’s a part of who we are today.”Some designers and fans say that Ms. Cattrall’s decision not to play Samantha again is a loss, but others are looking forward to the change. “Let’s not have all the same people,” said Ms. Srdic, 63, the Johannesburg jeweler whose $1,200 unpolished citrine ring was lent for Lisa’s wardrobe.Ms. de la Cruz agreed, adding, “Maybe this frees up the plot into a different dynamic.”While the series debut date hasn’t been announced, many fans already have plans.Ms. Fisher, for example, said she will be at home in New York City. “Maybe I’ll make myself a Cosmopolitan to celebrate while we watch,” she said, referring to Carrie’s favorite cocktail. “And have some girlfriends over. It’ll be fun.” More

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    Cartier Joins the Sponsors of the Venice Film Festival

    As part of the agreement, the Paris high jewelry house will present an annual award, with the first going to the director Ridley Scott.Along with lavish screenings of new films starring Oscar winners like Penélope Cruz and Olivia Colman, the 2021 Venice Film Festival will feature a different type of premiere: the debut of Cartier as a new main sponsor.The festival “has elegance. It has exclusivity. It has glamour,” said Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s chief marketing officer. “And that’s exactly what we want to build on.”As part of a three-year agreement, the festival, scheduled to begin on Sept. 1, will present the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award annually. This year’s recipient, chosen by the festival director Alberto Barbera, will be Ridley Scott, whose new film, “The Last Duel,” is scheduled to be shown at the festival on Sept. 10. (The award is to be presented immediately before the film’s screening.)The trophy — which will feature a panther, one of the house’s recurring motifs — is being made at the Cartier Creation Studio in Paris.Neither Cartier nor the festival would detail the financial aspects of the relationship, but film festivals can generate millions of dollars from sponsorships, which are typically offered on a variety of levels. There are two other new festival sponsors this year, both in less prominent tiers than Cartier: Repower, a Swiss energy company, and the Chinese electronics brand Xiaomi.For luxury brands like Cartier, choosing events and companies for partnerships can take some care. “The brand values need to be in line with the kind of art or the kind of activity they are sponsoring,” said Federica Levato, a Milan-based partner for Bain & Company.And, she said, consumers expect synergy in sponsorships. “If a brand is sponsoring an event with no link between the brand and the event, the customer will find it strange,” she said. (Last year, the festival had four main sponsors; three returning are Armani beauty, Campari and Mastercard.)Roberto Cicutto, president of La Biennale di Venezia, which oversees the festival and other cultural events in the city, wrote in an email that Cartier fit well as a sponsor because it had “the ability to best interpret a collaboration with a cultural institution.”Cartier has partnered with cinema-focused events before — like the Deauville American Film Festival, the French event it sponsored from 2005 through 2014 — as well as numerous art exhibitions through the Fondation Cartier, including current shows in Milan and Paris. “Art and culture have always been intimately intertwined with the history of Cartier,” Mr. Carrez said. More

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    Derek Khan, Onetime Stylist for Hip-Hop Stars, Dies at 63

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesRisk Near YouVaccine RolloutNew Variants TrackerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThose We’ve LostDerek Khan, Onetime Stylist for Hip-Hop Stars, Dies at 63He was an architect of the over-the-top look known as “ghetto fabulous.” Later, unable to support his own lavish lifestyle, he fell from grace.The fashion stylist Derek Khan at his home in Dubai in 2008. He presided over the marriage of pop music and high fashion that began in the 1990s. Credit…Daryl Visscher for The New York TimesFeb. 28, 2021, 12:36 p.m. ETDerek Khan, a celebrated fashion stylist to hip-hop and R&B stars like Salt-N-Pepa, Pink and Lauryn Hill who later fell far from those glittering heights, died on Feb. 15 at a hospital in Dubai. He was 63.The cause was complications of Covid-19, said Beverly Paige, a former vice president of publicity at the Island Def Jam Music Group.Mr. Khan, a diminutive man with outsize charm and a high-wattage smile, presided over the marriage of pop music and high fashion that began in the 1990s. A creator of the over-the-top look known as “ghetto fabulous,” he persuaded rap stars to shed the street wear they were known for, dressing them in Fendi, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana and bedazzling them with jewels from Harry Winston, Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels.When he was the in-house stylist for Motown, he was known as “Dolce” around the office, Andre Harrell, once the chief executive of that label — and a hip-hop star maker as founder of Uptown Records — told The New York Times in 2003. Mr. Khan swathed Mary J. Blige in yards of white fur (accessorized with Fendi sunglasses and a Rolls-Royce) for the cover of her album “Share My World.” He introduced Pink to Chanel, and he oversaw Lauryn Hill’s haute bohemian look for her debut album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which made her a Vogue darling.He was a visual impresario of a cultural shift in the music business that put hip-hop front and center and made its stars into mainstream fashion avatars.In the mid-1990s Ms. Paige of Island Records hired him to overhaul the look of the three young women who made up Salt-N-Pepa: Cheryl James, Sandra Denton and Diedra Roper, otherwise known as DJ Spinderella. The group was already wildly popular and would soon win a Grammy. Out went the eight-ball jackets and door-knocker earrings, which Mr. Khan, once a salesman at luxury boutiques, exchanged for Yves Saint Laurent tuxedos and ropes of diamonds.“We were just regular kids shopping at Rainbow on Jamaica Avenue, and then Derek came along with his over-the-top way and said, ‘You don’t know who you are. It’s time to step it up,’” Ms. James said in an interview. “The music is important, but how you show up is important, too. He taught us to show up in the room.”Salt-N-Pepa (from left, Cheryl James, Sandra Denton and Diedra Roper) after winning a Grammy Award in 1995. “We were just regular kids,” Ms. James said, “and then Derek came along with his over-the-top way and said, ‘You don’t know who you are. It’s time to step it up.’” Credit… Philippe Aimar/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy the turn of the millennium, Mr. Khan was one of the most sought-after stylists in the business. And he was living as extravagantly as the acts whose images he was amplifying — hosting enormous dinners at Mr. Chow, flying first class and treating himself to $1,000 jars of Crème de la Mer face cream.And then the bottom fell out of the music business. Music sharing platforms like Napster drained revenue from album sales. Music videos lost their luster. At the same time, artists who once doted on Mr. Khan found a new cadre of stylists to bedazzle them, and up-and-coming young artists had their own favorites.Unable to sustain the lavish lifestyle he had built, Mr. Khan developed a dangerous habit: He borrowed jewels from Harry Winston and others, as he had long done, but instead of adorning his clients, he pawned the baubles for cash.“After that first pawning I said I would never do it again,” Mr. Khan told The Times. “But then something would come up and I would need money, and then it snowballed.”The rapper Lil’ Kim, as styled by Mr. Khan in a Chanel outfit, at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2002.Credit…Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesAs the young fashion editor of Vibe magazine in the early 1990s, the stylist Stefan Campbell watched Mr. Khan’s dizzying rise. “As generous and creative as Derek was, he was straddling many worlds that he wanted to impress,” Mr. Campbell recalled. “He was introducing his young hip-hop clients to a whole new world of glamour, and he had to seem ‘of it.’ And in that world, generosity was expensive.”Mr. Khan’s world came crashing down in 2003, when he was sent to prison for defrauding the jewelers. After he was released in 2005, he was immediately deported to his native Trinidad.Then, in yet another reversal of fortune, Mr. Khan remade himself two years later in Dubai, initially embraced by a city where living large is a religion. His engaging smile beamed from the pages of lifestyle magazines there, and he signed a deal to design a line of jewelry.The Coronavirus Outbreak More