It’s all about Cannes this week – we rank Nicole Kidman’s red carpet looks and give you the inside gossip on a massive heist of Chopard jewels meant for the premieres. Read on for all the news…
The Cannes Film Festival is underway – but the stars may look a bit less adorned than normal.
$1 million of Chopard jewels have been stolen out of a safe in a Novotel in the Cannes centre – where they were under the care of an American Chopard employee who left them alone to go out partying.
Cannes police have said they think it might be an inside job – the thieves knew the exact room, the time at which the woman was absent, and how to get out without being noticed.
Chopard is a major sponsor of Cannes, with many starlets clambering to wear their stunning diamond pieces – and this will prove to be a bit of an embarrassment. Realistically, if there were multiple pieces worth $1 million, that’s fairly small change in Chopard terms.
The 2013 Red Carpet Collection, designed specifically for display at Cannes and to be worn by some of the world’s most famous women on the red carpet – Cara Delevingne wore pieces from it earlier this week – is filled with enormous, spectacular creations worth millions on their own.
This year, the theme was famous love stories in film, and gigantic jewels including rubies and emeralds were placed in show-stopping necklaces and earrings. $1 million would barely buy half of one earring.
Chopard also creates the Palme D’Or, the award given to the best film at Cannes, and there’s a special feature on the Chopard website about the artisans who make the special gold tablet engraved with a glorious palm design.
It’s been 15 years since Chopard started collaborating with the Cannes Festival, and this is the first reported robbery. Overall, we suspect Chopard executives are breathing a sigh of relief that it was only $1 million in gems…
Image: Chopard’s Red Carpet collection in the workshop.
Nicole Kidman is on the Cannes Jury this year, alongside Christoph Waltz and other luminaries of cinema, and she’s certainly leading the pack when it comes to fashion.
Judges turn up on almost every high-profile red carpet, and we’ve been loving Kidman’s commitment to looking fabulous in different ways.
Her first appearances were professional and cool: a Dior sequined midnight blue shift to a cocktail party, and then a McQueen black dress with puffed sleeves and a very French low neckline for a photo call.
That was the first glimpse we got of her new role as Jimmy Choo spokesperson: she accessorised the black dress with raspberry Jimmy Choo heels, and the result was pure French chic. Then the premieres started – and she pulled out the big guns.
She wore a head-to-toe Dior look for the premiere of The Great Gatsby, in girlish pastels with a clean 1950s silhouette and pink shoes. It was radiant with her notoriously pale skin.
However, the star of the evening was her bouffant – a high ponytail quiff you can only pull off with the height of confidence. She left starlets half her age looking frumpy and style-less. Now that’s an achievement.
For the premiere of Inside Llewellyn Davis, she went back to her favourite designer and personal stylist, L’Wren Scott (who’s Mick Jagger’s long-term partner). It was a long, abstract sequinned column in red, blue and black, and it took over the red carpet. And the hair went big again – a full 1940s-style bouffant with long, cascading curls. We think this look’s the winner.
How would you rank her Cannes looks thus far? Closing night will probably be her biggest fashion hit yet, so stay tuned…
Image: Nicole at Cannes.
It turns out that those fabulous TopShop t-shirts with the images of Rihanna on them haven’t got the OK from the singer herself.
She’s suing Topshop for misuse of her image, claiming that they didn’t ask her consent before splashing her face all over their clothing.
Apparently it’s been a while coming. For eight months, the singer’s management has been trying to negotiate with the British chain, getting them to either give her licensing fees or pull the clothing – but to no avail. So off to court we go.
She’s reportedly asking for damages of $5 million for the T-shirts, which feature her face in a still from her We Found Love video of 2012. (Topshop denies that number.)
Topshop’s arguing that they bought the photo fair and square from the photographer, and don’t have to ask her for permission just because she happens to be its subject.
They’re also saying that they bought the T-shirts themselves from a third party supplier, so it’s none of their business anyway.
It might get nasty – and expensive. Copyright lawsuits are notoriously complicated, and might drag on for years and years.
We’ll keep you posted on what Rihanna decides to wear to court – we’re pretty sure it won’t be Topshop.
Image: Rihanna.
