Prestige issue 257-258, Dec. 2014-Jan. 2015
The Diva of Roger Dubuis
Celebrating the essence of the muses, beauty icons and charismatic women through the ages, the Geneva watchmaker Roger Dubuis launches a serie of five shots in which Stephanie Seymour, actress, supermodel and diva of modern times, incarnates the line Velvet Fine Jewelry voluptuously feminine. A photo shoot of unparalleled beauty and sensuality reveals a fascinating work of Haute Photography where Haute Horlogerie and Haute Couture meet.
© Roger Dubuis / Photo: Mikael Jansson
Stephanie Seymour wearing the watch Velvet Fine Jewelry White Gold Roger Dubuis. Photographed by Mikael Jansson.
The issue was not to select randomly a model with an attractive silhouette, and to give her a watch on the wrist in a dream setting. Alvaro Maggini, artistic director at Roger Dubuis, voluntarily turned to a powerful icon: Stephanie Seymour, who symbolizes feminine plenitude and shares many values dear to Roger Dubuis. He decided to create a spectacular décor with minimalist touches, identity colors and evocative meaningful poses. All these details express with extreme precision the soul of feminine elegance, and at the same time remind extravagance and saturated notes of the first major fashion photography. Immortalized by the famous New York fashion photographer Mikael Jansson, the highly stylized visual creations plunge us into the incredible world of the Diva by Roger Dubuis, through five iconic photographic portraits capturing the essence of feminine beauty.
Mystical and timeless
Femme fatale elevated to the rank of a star model alongside Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz and Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour ruled the catwalks for over 25 years and her incendiary beauty fascinates more than ever. Revealed by legendary photographer Richard Avedon, Stephanie Seymour posed for the biggest fashion magazines and designers, which has naturally led to work with famous photographers, including Herb Hitts and Mario Testino. Since forever friend and muse of the famous couturier Azzedine Alaïa, she was the muse of Haute Couture houses such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent, and incarnated recently Modern Beauty for Estee Lauder.
An endless source of inspiration
To create the special atmosphere of this photo shoot, the eclectic Alvaro Maggini was inspired by great photographers like George Hurrell, master of Hollywood glamour in the 1930s and 1940s; Dahl Wolfe and his revolutionary photographic productions for Harper’s Bazaar; Horst P. Horst, the biggest fashion photographer of the XXth century, Edward Steichen and Henry Clarke. The fiery nature of Stephanie Seymour was also a powerful source of inspiration for Alvaro Maggini and Mikael Jansson. Intensity, passion, emotion, temperament, feminine plenitude, her personality cultivates elegance and boldness. Showing in a strong way, a cosmopolitan vision of elegance, tinged with a nonconformist magic related to Roger Dubuis, these visual creations celebrate the iconic style of the golden age of Hollywood through a muse both contemporary and timeless incarnating absolute femininity.
© Roger Dubuis / Photo: Mikael Jansson
Stephanie Seymour wearing the watch Velvet Mink Fur Couture Roger Dubuis. Photographed by Mikael Jansson.
As explained by Alvaro Maggini “The Velvet collection is an ode to the charm and sensuality of women. Expression of a discreet but real luxury, it adds a dose of daring to femininity. Stephanie Seymour, exhales this very particular magic and symbolizes this highly evocative line. Elegant, bold, sensual and incredibly beautiful, Stephanie Seymour is much more than physical beauty. Like Diva, her uncompromising character reflects the desire to express the most extravagant side of each of the models in the collection Velvet it inspires. Precious timepieces from the new collection Velvet feature a trompe-l’oeil case between circle and “barrel” that emphasize a bold style, while countless precious keys accentuate the sensual curves of the collection. ”
A master femininity
Beyond the desire to establish the difference Diva symbolizes more than just today’s women, in all their richness and boldness. In its quest for refinement, Diva revives the purest chic. Elegant, yes, but above all glamour: the models of the Velvet collection does not hesitate to grant a prominent place on the wrist. Diva is defined by its attitude, will and character. With this bold new campaign, the Manufacture Roger Dubuis reaffirms its commitment to a vision of femininity initiated earlier, especially in a campaign featuring Daphne Guinness (and exclusively published in our issue of November 2012, ed.)
Eternal Diva
Impossible to define, beauty is in the details, imperfections, unique features, and especially in the presence of a woman. Everyone knows that beauty is in the eye of the one who watches. It has no definition because it is not based on specific criteria. Every woman is beautiful in her own way. Besides being the symbol of absolute beauty, Stephanie Seymour perfectly fits the description of femininity by Shakespeare, as incarnated by Cleopatra: “Age can not wither her, nor habits exhaust her infinite variety». By representing beautifully the profound essence of haute couture (Stephanie Seymour) and Haute Horlogerie (Velvet) by the High Photography, Roger Dubuis illustrates in a remarkable and fascinating way the many facets of this muse of modern times. Like the Diva of Roger Dubuis, for Stephanie Seymour, nothing is accidental or ordinary. The term “muse” could not be better chosen to evoke the world of Diva. She is the one whose personality expresses a real point of view, a vision. Her bold and fiery nature continually cultivates elegance,marks every detail of these portraits, reflecting and reinforcing the power of the Velvet timepieces that adorn her wrist.
Model: Stephanie Seymour
Artistic director Roger Dubuis: Alvaro Maggini
Photographer: Mikael Jansson
Stylist: George Cortina
Agent Photographer: Annette Wenzel
Producer Photographer: Lauren Hechel
Studio/Post Production Manager: Marcin Kosmowski
Digital technicians: Remi Pujol & Fabrizio Amoroso
Couturier: Martin Keehn
Hair Stylist: Garen
Make-up Artist: Mark Carrasquillo
Manicure: Elisa Ferri
Prop Stylist: Stefan Beckman
Coordination: Cecilia Parrot-Tauleigne
