Sandra‘s Closet

Two weeks ago, I went to Geneva to film a new episode of Spotlight which will air this Saturday, at 7.45pm on Tele Züri. The reason? Tiffany & Co. celebrated the opening of its newest store at 21, Rue du Rhône.

Frederic Cumenal, CEO of Tiffany & Co. and Gitta Gräfin Lambsdorff, Managing Director Tiffany & Co., Germany/Austria/Switzerland, hosted the evening. The approximately 500 guests
were welcomed to a cocktail reception at the store where they were able to explore the magnificent new interiors across the store’s two floors and discover dazzling jewellery and the limited edition watches that the American jeweller has specially created to commemorate its return to Geneva.

The four limited edition cocktail watches, exclusively created for the Geneva opening.

Tiffany’s brilliant new store reflects the company’s global reputation as a luxury brand and a 178-year history that includes Geneva, where Tiffany first opened a branch in 1868.

Melvin Kirtley, Chief Gemologist Tiffany & Co., with me in front of the famous Tiffany Diamond.

TIFFANY DIAMOND
This legendary beauty was acquired by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1878. To this day, the spectacular 128.54-carat fancy yellow diamond remains one of the most important gemstones on earth. It was a great honor to see this precious piece in real life in Geneva as it rarely travels, remaining at home on the main floor of the Tiffany flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Star guest Paloma Picasso gave me a great interview that will air in the next Spotlight episode. To explore her newest collection for Tiffany, please click here.

Following the cocktail reception in the new store, we were then ushered to a glamourous marquee with a stunning Tiffany Blue Box entrance. With magnificent views to the Lake Geneva and the Jet d’Eau, we enjoyed a fantastic party with live performances by renowned saxophonist Chez Taylor-Francis, DJMike and DJ Viky Queen.

A fun evening that ended with the beautiful Jet d’Eau lit up in Tiffany blue!

If you are living in Switzerland, don’t forget to watch Spotlight this Saturday at 7.45pm! The trailer will tell you a little more about the episode…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Magali Girardin/ Tiffany and ©Sandra Bauknecht

For those who have missed it or don’t have the chance to watch Swiss television, here is the first Spotlight show moderated by me that was presented last Saturday. The episode is all about my favorite moments with Chopard in Cannes during the Film Festival. I interviewed Caroline Scheufele and supermodel Petra Nemcova. Have fun watching the show and stay tuned for all my impressions from the Côte d’Azur.

Caroline Scheufele of Chopard

Petra Nemcova before hitting the red carpet in Zuhair Murad

And don’t forget to like Spotlight on FACEBOOK! Your support would be extremely appreciated – a huge thank you in advance!

LoL, Sandra

Behind the scenes photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

During the Cannes Film Festival, I was also filming a new episode of Spotlight, which will air this Saturday at 7.45pm on TeleZüri. It is my first own show in which I will be taking you on the red carpet of the Chopard Gold Night Party, followed by some great interviews and a private concert by Robbie Williams. Don’t miss it, you can watch the trailer at the end of this post!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

When I was in the beginning of my 20s, I was dying to own a Piaget Possession ring. Luckily enough, my parents gifted me with one that I still treasure. You might imagine my excitement when the house of PIAGET approached me as their Swiss ambassador to be part of their social media campaign for the launch of the NEW possession jewelry collection.

We shot the visuals as well as the video that you can see below Mid March 2015 in Paris. 25 years after its first launch, Piaget is expanding its iconic line in honour of the third millennium.

But what is so special about this line? It’s a ring inside a ring, a second rotating band with which to play. “Turn, turn and captivate the world with a simple movement…” one little touch is enough.

It’s a symbol of power and of the choices we as women make for ourselves to take on the world.
I love the campaign’s slogan: “Turn, and the world is yours.” Imagine that with each stroke you can start over again. Isn’t that imagination magical and wearing it around your finger gives you the partner in crime to remind you of that fact every day.

Chabi Nouri, Director of Jewlery Marketing, Communications, and Brand Equity, mentioned to me once that turning the ring is for her “an addictive gesture.” She explained it: “Sometimes I stroke it gently with my thumb to help me think, and to refocus on what is really important.” I adore her approach. My ring can be like a piece of peace in this ultra-fast-paced contemporary world we are living in, a little companion to help reflect and think.

The new collection offers many different varieties to choose from. The choice is yours.
And here is the final video:

A huge thank you to the whole team of Studio Daylight for this amazing shoot!

A really great experience was to meet Jessica Chastain again, the new international ambassador for Piaget, who shot the advertising campaign in Paris the same day in the same studio right before me.

LoL, Sandra

Photos and Videos: Courtesy of Piaget
© Sandra Bauknecht
#myturn #piagetpossession

For those who have missed it or don’t have the chance to watch Swiss television, here is my first Spotlight show that was presented Saturday one week ago. The episode is all about my favorite places in Paris. Enjoy!

And don’t forget to like Spotlight on FACEBOOK! Your support would be extremely appreciated – a huge thank you in advance!

LoL, Sandra

Today, I would like to share with you VALENTINO‘s very special New York capsule collection designed by Creative Directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. The collection shows the love and passion they have for the city that never sleeps.

It includes men’s and women’s ready to wear and accessories and is available only in NYC in the new 20,000 square feet store, situated at 693 Fifth Avenue.

Right in time for the holiday season, the collection will also include a Christmas ornament decorated with a red heart, which will also come in white camouflage.

Valentino’s Fifth Avenue store opened its doors in August 2014 and marks an important step in the development of the brand’s worldwide retail network expansion. The store concept combines old and new in order to generate a Palazzo atmosphere, steering away from the pure showroom and promoting a new architectural format in place of a more traditional retail boutique structure.

Tomorrow another unique event is happening in New York: a very special Haute Couture show that you can watch live here on Sandra’s Closet at 8pm EST. It is the first time an Haute Couture gets live streamed, so it is very exciting, and believe me, you will not be disappointed.

LoL, Sandra

Photos, Video: Courtesy of Valentino

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I am so excited as I will be leaving this Sunday to Salzburg following Chanel‘s invitation to watch their upcoming Paris-Salzburg 2014/15 Métiers d’art collection that will be presented on December 2nd, 2014 in the Austrian city. To celebrate this occasion, Karl Lagerfeld created a video-clip with the title “Reincarnation” (watch the trailer at the end of this post).

This new short film was the perfect opportunity for Karl Lagerfeld to develop an artistic collaboration with Pharrell Williams, a close friend of the House and personal friend of the designer. In fact, the artist composed and wrote the lyrics to “CC The World“, the original soundtrack for Reincarnation, and he also played one of the lead roles and will be, along with Cara Delevingne, the face of the upcoming campaign of the Paris-Salzburg 2014/15 Métiers d’art collection.

Once again Karl Lagerfeld had imagined an episode from the life of Gabrielle Chanel. Embodied by Geraldine Chaplin, Gabrielle Chanel is holidaying in the suburbs of Salzburg in 1954. At her hotel she meets a young lift-boy played by Pharrell Williams who wears a jacket which would later inspire the iconic CHANEL jacket.

“It was time to show the origins of the CHANEL jacket, inspired by the one worn by the lift attendant in a hotel near Salzburg in the 1950s (…) Reincarnation is the story of a lift attendant’s jacket being reincarnated as a timeless piece of women’s wear,” declares Karl Lagerfeld.

Reincarnation is also the evocation of another era, that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which Karl Lagerfeld brings to life for one night in the heart of the 1950s.

Karl Lagerfeld adds: “None of this would have been possible without Pharrell Williams, Cara Delevingne and Geraldine Chaplin. It’s the perfect cast. Pharrell is a genius and Geraldine at her best in the role of Gabrielle Chanel in the year of her comeback.”

Reincarnation will be screened in Salzburg on December 1st, 2014 the night before the Paris-Salzburg 2014/15 Métiers d’art show and I couldn’t be happier to be there to watch it live. Stay tuned for more…

LoL, Sandra

Photos and Trailer: © Chanel

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Being the editor-in-chief, I am so proud of our new baby! This Thursday, the first L’OFFICIEL HOMMES Schweiz/Suisse will hit the newsstand in German and French. To celebrate the launch, I would like to invite you to watch this teaser film on the cover shoot with Werner Schreyer. I truly hope that you, Gentlemen, will enjoy this new magazine as much as we had fun putting it together!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandro Baebler

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The invitation sketched by Karl Lagerfeld read, “Coco Chanel back in Dallas” and he took it literally. His fashion show for the Pre-fall 2014 Métiers d’Art collection titled “Paris-Dallas” took place last Tuesday at Dallas Fair Park, a historical venue with art-deco architecture that is located in the heart of the Texan city.

Chanel Paris – Dallas show decor

This event was the occasion to celebrate the strong bond that linked the French designer to the US. “I admire and love America. It’s where I made my fortune. For many Americans (…), I am France” stated Gabrielle Chanel, cited by Paul Morand in his book, The Allure of Chanel.

Stanley Marcus pictured on September 6th 1957 greeting Coco Chanel as she arrived in Dallas

The climax of this mutual passion dates back to 1957, when Coco Chanel – accompanied by a delegation of 125 people from France – landed on October 14th at the Dallas airport. Stanley Marcus, co-founder of the Neiman Marcus store, awarded her with the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, the “Oscar of Fashion”. That year, the designer of rue Cambon is the only winner among the 300 fashion designers invited, an indication of the importance she holds in the hearts of Americans.

Gabrielle Chanel and Stanley Marcus during her visit in Texas

During her twelve-day Texan journey, Gabrielle Chanel dazzles the crowd to the point that Time Magazine reports the event by titling it “Dallas in Wonderland”. Fifty-six years later, Karl Lagerfeld returned to Dallas and retraced this journey that sealed the French-American love story of the designer with the people seduced by the modernity of her creations.

To celebrate the occasion, Karl Lagerfeld directed a short movie titled ‘The Return’ in which he shows Coco Chanel’s incredible return to center stage in December 1953 when the designer reopened her Haute Couture house after fifteen years of absence. The collection was welcomed by the French press with an icy silence as Dior’s 1947 New Look, cinched at the waist, had taken over the fashion hype. Only the American media supported the looks that defined the rebirth of Chanel’s style. ‘The Return’ retraces this determining period, that shaped the legend of the designer of rue Cambon forever.

The film features Geraldine Chaplin in the role of Gabrielle Chanel, Rupert Everett, Anna Mouglalis, Lady Amanda Harlech, Arielle Dombasle, the model Kati Nescher, as well as Vincent Darré and Sam McKnight.

The drive-in for ‘The Return’ screening before the show

Chanel’s Métiers d’Art collections are designed to showcase the amazing and outstanding craftsmanship of the ateliers that the House of Chanel has acquired to preserve over all those years. Personally speaking, I admire Karl Lagerfeld for his creativity that never uses an element the way it is meant to be. He transforms cowboy boots into wider versions, plays with texture so that laminated jersey looks like shiny leather and brings Native American details into the modern world.

Enjoy the photos of this absolutely fabulous collection! My favorite is this dark star-spangled gown, an ode to the ’30s with the right edge of a Texan cowboy girl! So, ladies, that’s what y’all are wearin’ next fall!

Karl Lagerfeld has chosen Kristen Stewart, who attended the show last Tuesday, to be the face of the upcoming campaign of the Pre-fall 2014 Métiers d’Art “Paris-Dallas” collection. I have to say that the American actress is not my favorite choice… but I am sure that Karl Lagerfeld will surprise us with something different once more.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel, © Oliver Saillant, © AP

In January, I told you for the first time about the amazing collaboration between Lancôme and Alber Elbaz, followed by a post in the beginning of May when I was able to show you the limited edition make-up collection that will hit the stores on June 15, 2013. Today, the Lancôme press office sent me this uber-cute video, that is SO FASHION WEEK! You have to watch it!

In the beginning of July, there will be the Hypnôse Show Party, one of the events of the year which will be held during Couture week in Paris with celebrities, socialites, trendsetters, top beauty and fashion editors. The “extravagant party” everybody wants to attend and I cannot! I am so bumped as I will be travelling for one month to China for work and pleasure. Of course, all the good things are always taking place at the same time… but I am also very excited for my time in Asia! And I hope that you are, too… as I will be keeping you posted from all the hot spots in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and many other places.

LoL, Sandra

Photos and video: Courtesy of Lancôme

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