Jenny Beavan, the costume designer behind Disney’s; Cruella which opens today, May 28th in movie theaters and which can also be seen on Disney + (with premiere access), is no stranger to period films, high jewelry, or the details that enhance character. So when De Beers announced it was providing diamond High Jewelry for Emma Thompson’s character—it seemed a natural fit.
Beavan’s long-running relationship with some of the most esteemed directors has earned her two Academy Awards, 10 nominations and credits that read like the best of the late 20th to 21st centuries' costume dramas: The Bostonians, A Room with a View, Howards End, The Remains of The Day, Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park, Possession, The Kings Speech, and Mad Max: Fury Road and many more. She runs the gamut from Victorian times through the Jazz Age to the 80’s Punk Rock era and more in between.
In Gosford Park, set in 1932, which revolves around a party at the country estate and deals with the social issues, class distinctions between the upstairs and downstairs characters, the goings-on of the upstairs seen through the eyes of the downstairs servants. When I interviewed Beavan before the film’s debut in 2001, she explained, “The jewelry is one of the details that plays a large role in the characterization of the personalities of the upstairs guests,” she continues, “I was working with Robert Altman and he wanted everything to be authentic of the time and not staged or phony. It was a very English party and there was much snobbery between characters as to what they wore. In this era, they would have worn extremely good but refined and somewhat discreet jewelry.” Beaven worked with Tessier Jewelers who specialize in antique and estate jewelry in England The jewelry was worn by six of the ladies of the upstairs part of the house. Kristen Scott Thomas whose home as the character Lady Sylvia McCordle wears a piece from Chanel Joillere which was actually created in 1932. In Neil LaBute’s Possession, a Victorian Whitby Jet cameo helps uncover some of the plot line.
Back to Cruella which is a take on the Disney classic 101 Dalmatians set amid 1970s London and the punk rock revolution of the day. Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil, an aspiring fashion designer and Emma Thompson as Baroness Von Hellman, the villainous owner of a renowned but tired fashion label. Emma Stone’s character turns into the supervillain we have come to know, but in better costumes, which almost seem like a weapon as Cruella becomes more ruthless. Emma Thompson’s Baroness Von Hellman has become an icon of fashion—stylish and a staple of the world she inhabits but has become staid. However, her costumes, which Beaven notes in an interview with Variety ‘is influenced by 1950s and 60s Dior.’ It is this more neutral palette and sense of glamor which offers the contrast needed to pull off Cruella’s black, white and grey tones, ornate military jackets and blood red ballgowns.
But it is Baroness Von Hellman’s jewels that set off the costumes and bring them to life—portraying her as a force to be reckoned.
These De Beers diamond High Jewelry pieces with descriptions from DeBeers include:
The Arpeggia five-line necklace and three-line earrings in white gold. Inspired by Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, the Arpeggia collection arranges round brilliant diamonds on cascading lines of micropavé, like the notes of the score.
Additional pieces captured on screen include the Diamond Legends by De Beers Cupid necklace - a modern take on the diamond line. Two symmetrical lines of princess-cut diamonds form the silhouette of this necklace, framed by a row of marquise-shaped diamonds, their form mirroring Cupid’s feathered wings.
The Swan Lake necklace in white and yellow gold pays tribute to the beauty of Tchaikovsky’s ballet.
The Assana necklace gives shimmering form to the ancient tale that saw diamonds formed from stars, transforming into drops of water as they touched the earth.
