Latest news with #ReachfortheStars
BusinessToday
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BusinessToday
Reach for the Stars with Chanel's Dazzling New Collection
Comets, lions and wings take centre stage in Reach for the Stars, Chanel's latest High Jewellery collection. Each motif is reinterpreted in delicate openwork gold and set with radiant gemstones, expressing movement, strength and aspiration. Every piece begins as a sketch in Chanel's Fine Jewellery Creation Studio. From there, expert artisans hand-select exceptional gemstones to meet the House's highest standards. At the atelier on Place Vendôme in Paris, these designs are brought to life with meticulous craftsmanship. The collection highlights Chanel's signature attention to detail. Gold is shaped into lace-like structures that drape elegantly around the body. Rare gemstones—including yellow and white diamonds, Padparadscha and blue sapphires, rubies, yellow beryls and orange garnets—add depth, colour and brilliance. The result is a refined expression of freedom and elegance. A key piece in the collection is the Wings of Chanel necklace, which introduces the wing motif to Chanel High Jewellery for the first time. Made in openwork gold and set with diamond details, the necklace wraps around the neck like a fine, lightweight structure. It also features a detachable diamond section that can be worn as a bracelet, offering added versatility. At its centre is a cushion-cut Padparadscha sapphire weighing 19.55 carats. Its colour shifts between pink and orange, giving the piece a warm, distinctive glow. Chanel's interest in celestial symbols goes back to 1932, when Gabrielle Chanel launched her Bijoux de Diamants collection. Her use of the star motif, which she once described as 'eternally modern,' continues in Reach for the Stars. The comet appears in new designs, such as the Blazing Star set with outlines in gold and onyx, and the Dazzling Star choker, which uses diamond pendants to create a sense of movement. The lion, Chanel's astrological sign and a symbol of strength, features prominently in the Strong as a Lion set, which combines a dazzling mane of stars with white and yellow diamonds. The Embrace Your Destiny necklace presents a sculpted lion's profile adorned with pear-shaped diamonds, exuding quiet power. For Patrice Leguéreau, Director of the Chanel Jewellery Creation Studio, the collection captures the fleeting beauty of a sunset—those final moments between day and night when the sky is awash with gold, mauve and pink. 'We wanted to create pieces of jewellery that are illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond,' he explains. 'Capturing that magical moment when high jewellery sparkles on the skin.' Related
Elle
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Everyone's Traveling to Kyoto Right Now—Here's Why
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Each spring in Kyoto, more than 500 people in traditional dress process through the streets for Aoi Matsuri, a festival with roots dating back to the 6th century. Some 1,500 years since it began, Aoi Matsuri remains one of Kyoto's most beloved annual events—and it's just one of many festivals held in the city throughout the year. For Gion Matsuri, which lasts for the entire month of July, locals are encouraged to wear summer-weight yukata kimonos to indulge in beer and street food and watch large-scale parades of colorful floats. Unlike the bustling, sometimes-claustrophobic streets of Tokyo, the world's largest city, Kyoto exudes a sense of serenity, a calmness that gives even greater meaning to these special events. Peel back the city's traditional exterior, and you'll find modernity as well: a train station like something out of Blade Runner, filled with immersive digital installations; a thriving contemporary art gallery scene; and, increasingly, a synergy of old and new that inspires creatives and global brands. Chanel presented its latest haute joaillerie collection, 'Reach for the Stars,' there on June 2. And Dior staged an elaborate pre-fall 2025 show in April in the garden of Tō-ji Temple. The lavish affair was inspired in part by former creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri's visit to Kyoto last fall. Her collection drew upon images of 15th- and 16th-century Japanese designs, and she worked with the traditional Japanese fabric company Tatsumura Textile Co. Kyoto is a city of temples, shrines, and gardens, where the annual cherry blossom season draws visitors from around the world and where it is still possible to see geishas promenading through the Gion district. You'll find modern Japanese shopping here, but plenty of traditional treasures, too. According to Toshiyuki Matsubayashi, master potter and 16th-generation leader of Asahiyaki, a revered pottery studio in Kyoto, what sets his city apart is that its history has not merely been preserved, but celebrated as an essential element of daily life. The interplay of the past with more contemporary domains of design, art, and hospitality is what helps his family-owned, 400-year-old business survive. His workshop now offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour to guests of the Park Hyatt Kyoto—an opening up of traditional methods perhaps unthinkable 100 years ago. Hotels are also experiencing a renaissance—which helps explain why luxury travel adviser network Virtuoso reports that its Kyoto bookings for 2024 spiked 115 percent over the prior year. (Visitors to Japan overall grew 47 percent from 2023 to 2024, and Japan was the most popular country on social media, per a study by Titan Travel.) Kyoto was long known for the ryokan—a type of traditional inn with paper walls, tatami floor mats, and communal onsen hot spring baths. That all changed with the 2020 arrival of the Ace Hotel Kyoto—a complete reimagining of the Kyoto Central Telephone Exchange building by star architects Kengo Kuma & Associates, with Los Angeles-based Commune Design doing the interiors. It's part of a wave of international hotel brand openings that is just now reaching full steam. The Six Senses Kyoto opened last year in the preserved historic district of Higashiyama, enhancing its impeccable five-star wellness concept with Japanese touches—its spa features an Alchemy Bar where guests can blend their own bespoke beauty scrubs with ingredients reflecting Japan's 24 sekki, or micro-seasons. Last year also marked the opening of the nearby Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, built to blend into the mountainous landscape surrounding the city, and the first hotel in Kyoto to have an in-house Noh stage. This fall brings the arrival of the glittering Capella Kyoto, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and Brewin Design Office, with a design informed by wabi-sabi aesthetics and Zen gardens. Perhaps most exciting of all, next year the Japanese hotel group Imperial Hotel, Ltd. will unveil the extensively restored and renovated Imperial Hotel, Kyoto, in the landmarked Yasaka Kaikan, a former theater where geishas and their maiko trainees once performed. The architectural firm Obayashi Corporation will oversee construction, while interior design will be done by New Material Research Laboratory Co., a Japanese design firm that specializes in the modern use of traditional Japanese construction methods and natural materials. Their brief for the new Imperial? Old is new. This story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of ELLE. GET THE LATEST ISSUE OF ELLE
Ottawa Citizen
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
Community Builders: Elmwood Gala - Reach for the Stars
Elmwood School reached for the stars Saturday, May 10, and landed a record-breaking $210,000 in support of a revitalized sports field. Article content Held in the transformed gymnasium of the school, the 2025 Elmwood Gala was an elegant celebration of community and a high-energy fundraiser rolled into one. This year's celestial theme, Reach for the Stars, brought together parents, alumni, diplomats and local leaders for an unforgettable night. Article content Article content Guests kicked off the evening with designer cocktails before enjoying a three-course dinner prepared by chef Candice and the Elmwood bistro team, described in advance as 'Michelin star-worthy.' Article content 'This is the major fundraising event of the year, and tonight's gala is really important to making continuous enrichment and innovation a reality,' said Véronique French Merkley, chair of the Elmwood board of governors. Article content 'If you look back over the past few years, some examples of the impact that the gala has had includes a new art space for students, redesigned science labs, a library that was reimagined into learning commons and a new play structure for the junior school,' she added. Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Katy Perry became the Hot and Cold popstar
Earlier this week American singer Katy Perry, best known for her bubblegum pop, said she felt like a "human Piñata" after weeks of online backlash. The description felt suitably colourful - but the acknowledgement was serious. A decade on from headlining the Superbowl, Perry's part in a much-derided Blue Origin spaceflight has seen her star crash down to Earth. Mockery over the apparent worthiness of her reaction, including kissing the ground after landing and saying she felt "so connected to love", spread online. Fast food chain Wendy's even posted to ask: "Can we send her back?" Trolls have now taken aim at her world tour, which began in Mexico on 23 April, criticising her dance moves and performances. It seems the star who first broke through singing about a boyfriend's mood swings now faces an icy reception. Perry's blamed an "unhinged and unhealed" internet - but is toxic social media the only reason? The music writer Michael Cragg, author of Reach for the Stars, believes Perry's problem is that she's stuck between pop cultures and feels increasingly out of touch. "Her pop star persona was cemented in the 2010s as cartoon-y, fun and playful, all whipped cream bras and goofy videos where she wore oversized braces on her teeth," he says. For a period this worked. Her second album Teenage Dream, which doubled down on Perry's staple cheeky, sexualised girl-next-door image, scored five Billboard number one singles to match a record set by Michael Jackson. Its follow-up, 2013's Prism, bore transatlantic smash single Roar (her fourth solo UK number one), as well as Dark Horse in the US (her ninth domestically). Perry hasn't topped charts under her own steam since. "That was a long time ago in pop terms and it feels like she hasn't evolved," adds Cragg. In the past year, her comeback single Woman's World, touted as a female empowerment anthem, struck critics as lyrically shallow. Some fans also seemed unimpressed that it was produced by Dr. Luke, who previously faced sexual assault allegations from the singer Kesha. The producer denied the claims and the pair reached an agreement to settle a defamation lawsuit in 2023, but Perry remained tainted by association. The track failed to land in the top 50 in the US and only just managed in the UK, at 47. "Her sort of spiritual 'let love lead the way' messages she posts don't really hold sway with very online pop fans in the face of that decision," says Cragg. "The regressive girl boss feel of Woman's World, and then the album not being great hasn't helped," he adds, pointing to rapper Doja Cat's success working with Dr. Luke without the same negative response. It followed a pattern of failed reinvention attempts stretching back to 2017's Witness, where Perry attempted to launch her socially conscious "purposeful pop" era. But its Sia-written lead single Chained to the Rhythm, which boldly attacked mindless pop culture, appeared to be undermined by Bon Appetit, a song openly objectifying Perry as a sexual meal. Female pop stardom has shifted. Last year's biggest breakout music stars – Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX – were women joined by a thread of fierce self-assurance, underpinned by relatability and authenticity. In contrast, Perry wanted distance from her pop persona - as the headline for Cragg's 2017 Guardian interview with her put it: "I created this character called Katy Perry. I didn't want to be Katheryn Hudson. It was too scary." Perry's first hit I Kissed A Girl caused controversy for the fetishisation of lesbians even back in 2008 when it was released. But today Roan's had global success telling her genuine queer awakening. "The flip flopping has jarred in an era where... very defined pop star personas are the ones cutting through," argues Cragg. Perry's 2021-2023 playground-styled Las Vegas residency embraced her surreal, fantastical image to commercial and critical success. But it's not translating to a new generation of fans. "I think ultimately people see her as a bit cringeworthy now," Cragg adds. "Being shot into space on a billionaire's jolly while everyone watches that on social media platforms interspersed with war and the climate crisis... just feels tonally not ideal," he says. Perry may have misjudged the public mood, but at the same time, the venom in the blowback points to deeper issues in pop culture beyond her control. There is no doubt that the social media landscape has become more frenzied in recent years, with stars like Roan speaking against toxic fandoms. Simon Diego, the creator of Brazil's Portal Katy Perry fan community, described the scale of the abuse towards the 40-year-old as "unbelievable". The group showed their support by clubbing together with other fan pages to pay for a digital billboard message in New York's Times Square for 24 hours. "We're so proud of you and your magical journey and we love you to the moon and back," it read. "Know that you are safe, seen and celebrated. We'll see you around the world, this is just the beginning." It was this that Perry replied to directly with her Piñata remark acknowledging the backlash. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katy Perry Brasil (@katyperrybrasil) "I think Katy and many other celebrities are feeling unsafe in the one space that used to connect them to fans," Diego tells BBC News. He believes that's why Perry has never posted photos of her daughter's face online. But even that boundary was ignored in the wake of the spaceflight criticism, as commenters began targeting her four-year-old child simply because "it's cool now", he says. "They don't understand how bad it could affect her." Others, like Marie Claire Australia editor Georgie McCourt, think pervasive misogyny plays a part. "There's a particular ire reserved for women like Perry: ambitious, unapologetic, hyper-visible," she wrote in a column, noting that male celebrities have already gone into space without such surveillant reaction. So where next for Perry? Cragg says a hit single would help. "I'm not saying it will return her to the commercial highs of old, because that ship has sailed for a lot of pre-streaming artists, but it will steady the ship." Lily Allen apologises for 'being mean' to Katy Perry Katy Perry's comeback single falters in charts
BBC News
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Katy Perry: From Blue Origin flight to 'cringe' dance moves - the online backlash against her
Earlier this week American singer Katy Perry, best known for her bubblegum pop, said she felt like a "human Piñata" after weeks of online description felt suitably colourful - but the acknowledgement was serious. A decade on from headlining the Superbowl, Perry's part in a much-derided Blue Origin spaceflight has seen her star crash down to over the apparent worthiness of her reaction, including kissing the ground after landing and saying she felt "so connected to love", spread online. Fast food chain Wendy's even posted to ask: "Can we send her back?"Trolls have now taken aim at her world tour, which began in Mexico on 23 April, criticising her dance moves and performances. It seems the star who first broke through singing about a boyfriend's mood swings now faces an icy reception. Perry's blamed an "unhinged and unhealed" internet - but is toxic social media the only reason? 'A pattern of failed reinvention' The music writer Michael Cragg, author of Reach for the Stars, believes Perry's problem is that she's stuck between pop cultures and feels increasingly out of touch."Her pop star persona was cemented in the 2010s as cartoon-y, fun and playful, all whipped cream bras and goofy videos where she wore oversized braces on her teeth," he a period this worked. Her second album Teenage Dream, which doubled down on Perry's staple cheeky, sexualised girl-next-door image, scored five Billboard number one singles to match a record set by Michael Jackson. Its follow-up, 2013's Prism, bore transatlantic smash single Roar (her fourth solo UK number one), as well as Dark Horse in the US (her ninth domestically). Perry hasn't topped charts under her own steam since."That was a long time ago in pop terms and it feels like she hasn't evolved," adds Cragg. In the past year, her comeback single Woman's World, touted as a female empowerment anthem, struck critics as lyrically fans also seemed unimpressed that it was produced by Dr. Luke, who previously faced sexual assault allegations from the singer Kesha. The producer denied the claims and the pair reached an agreement to settle a defamation lawsuit in 2023, but Perry remained tainted by association. The track failed to land in the top 50 in the US and only just managed in the UK, at 47. "Her sort of spiritual 'let love lead the way' messages she posts don't really hold sway with very online pop fans in the face of that decision," says Cragg. "The regressive girl boss feel of Woman's World, and then the album not being great hasn't helped," he adds, pointing to rapper Doja Cat's success working with Dr. Luke without the same negative followed a pattern of failed reinvention attempts stretching back to 2017's Witness, where Perry attempted to launch her socially conscious "purposeful pop" era. But its Sia-written lead single Chained to the Rhythm, which boldly attacked mindless pop culture, appeared to be undermined by Bon Appetit, a song openly objectifying Perry as a sexual meal. The 'pop girlie' has changed Female pop stardom has shifted. Last year's biggest breakout music stars – Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX – were women joined by a thread of fierce self-assurance, underpinned by relatability and contrast, Perry wanted distance from her pop persona - as the headline for Cragg's 2017 Guardian interview with her put it: "I created this character called Katy Perry. I didn't want to be Katheryn Hudson. It was too scary." Perry's first hit I Kissed A Girl caused controversy for the fetishisation of lesbians even back in 2008 when it was released. But today Roan's had global success telling her genuine queer awakening."The flip flopping has jarred in an era where... very defined pop star personas are the ones cutting through," argues 2021-2023 playground-styled Las Vegas residency embraced her surreal, fantastical image to commercial and critical it's not translating to a new generation of fans. "I think ultimately people see her as a bit cringeworthy now," Cragg adds. "Being shot into space on a billionaire's jolly while everyone watches that on social media platforms interspersed with war and the climate crisis... just feels tonally not ideal," he may have misjudged the public mood, but at the same time, the venom in the blowback points to deeper issues in pop culture beyond her control. There is no doubt that the social media landscape has become more frenzied in recent years, with stars like Roan speaking against toxic Diego, the creator of Brazil's Portal Katy Perry fan community, described the scale of the abuse towards the 40-year-old as "unbelievable".The group showed their support by clubbing together with other fan pages to pay for a digital billboard message in New York's Times Square for 24 hours."We're so proud of you and your magical journey and we love you to the moon and back," it read."Know that you are safe, seen and celebrated. We'll see you around the world, this is just the beginning."It was this that Perry replied to directly with her Piñata remark acknowledging the backlash. "I think Katy and many other celebrities are feeling unsafe in the one space that used to connect them to fans," Diego tells BBC believes that's why Perry has never posted photos of her daughter's face even that boundary was ignored in the wake of the spaceflight criticism, as commenters began targeting her four-year-old child simply because "it's cool now", he says. "They don't understand how bad it could affect her."Others, like Marie Claire Australia editor Georgie McCourt, think pervasive misogyny plays a part."There's a particular ire reserved for women like Perry: ambitious, unapologetic, hyper-visible," she wrote in a column, noting that male celebrities have already gone into space without such surveillant where next for Perry? Cragg says a hit single would help."I'm not saying it will return her to the commercial highs of old, because that ship has sailed for a lot of pre-streaming artists, but it will steady the ship."
