Daily Front Row

2010 April 30

Le Frick, C'est Chic

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Eugenia Silva in Hervé Le Roux coutoure, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele and Gwyneth Paltrow in Antonio Berardi
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(NEW YORK) The Daily covers the Cannes film festival, so we know fully well that Chopard doesn’t do things small. The brand practically rules the event, thanks to all those big stones, big stars and big suites at Martinez. So you can only imagine what the official 150th anniversary bash will look like on May 17. But the brand’s creative head Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele started out things in more serene fashion in New York with a tasteful gala at the Frick Collection to unveil pieces from Animal World, a Haute Joaillerie collection of 150 one-of-a-kind designs. John Legend provided the entertainment, and of course, at least five A-listers roamed the Frick’s hall wearing carats that reached double and even triple digits. “I’m well-insured, so I’m comfortable with this,” smiled Eugenia Silva.

Gwyneth Paltrow came to the event just a day after hosting a benefit on her own. “I’m in the gala state of mind this week,” she smiled. Meanwhile, Kate Hudson caught up with a pregnant Georgina Chapman and met Kate Davidson Hudson (of Elle) for the first time. “That’s so funny,” she quipped. “You know I’ve met three or four other ‘Kate Hudsons’ in my life, and every time it’s happens, they come up to me and say ‘You know, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m a Kate Hudson, too!' I can believe it!”

Christina Ricci walked around the museum in a vintage Galanos dress. “This is my red-tie look,” she explained without missing a beat. “I actually just finished a film called Bel Ami co-starring Robert Pattinson. He was a pleasure to work with and thankfully, they kept his groupies far away from him so we could focus on our script!”

Natalie Cole revealed a project of her own. “I’ve been working on my biography,” she said. “When you write a book about yourself, it's incredibly hard. You don’t want yourself too much credit and yet you don’t want to be boring either.” Gruosi-Scheufele talked about her own challenge: designing the baubles. “150 only happens once, so you better make the most of it,” she declared. “Planning events is our usual thing, and we can’t go wrong with the Frick, but working on the animals was more stressful for me. It was hard to get their expressions right---and there are so many of them!"

And naturally, as guests like Alexandra Richards and Stefano Tonchi admired the diamond mini-zoo, The Daily wondered: what’s your power animal?  “I’m a big lover of lions,” admitted Ricci. “But that’s easy for me. Just look at my back tattoo!”  “Mine is the schnoodle,” quickly decided Claire Danes. “It’s my beloved schnauzer and poodle mix! I have one at home.”
VALENTINE UHOVSKI