At Venice, Chanel presented its latest collection, "Sous le signe du Lion", an homage to the city of the Doges that Coco frequented in the '20s and '30s, and where she mourned her great love, Boy, who died in 1919. Superstitious as she was, Coco the Leo must have regarded the omnipresence of this animal in the city as a mystical sign. In Venice, the lion is everywhere: on the Basilica of San Marco (Chanel is financing the restauration of its facade), on the gondoliers' pontons, on the dockyards.... The house of Chanel decided to explore this lion theme in a collection composed of over 50 pieces. Diamonds, white gold, pearls, beryl, oversized crystals, the collection is ultra-spectacular (the designs are incredibly precise) and extremely unified; every piece features a lion's head. Bold and outlandish, that's what we love at Chanel. // text and photos by Olivia da Costa

When Chanel Jewelry organizes its first press trip, its to bring you into the magical dreamworld of Venice! A private visit to the Basilica of San Marco, lunch at Cipriani, dinner in an intimate, private palace spilling over with Murano glass, where the ceilings are embellished with a multitude of cherubs.... But the must remains dinner at the Misericordia, an old friary from the sixteenth century, where the collection is presented on the ground floor, followed by a magisterial dinner on the first floor. More than one hundred guests are seated amidst near-theatrical decor: Venetian objects placed here and there, frames and giant paintings, gondolas, ropes, sculptures swaddled in red sheets. You feel like you're in the attic of a doge-- happily the orchestra is on hand to bring us out of our reverie. Some will even feel moved to try a waltz! They definitely know what they're doing at Chanel: make the journalists waltz in a Venetian Renaissance monument on rivers of diamonds! // Text and photo by Olivia da Costa

Photos by Olivia da Costa

1/ Shoes by Prada, socks by Tabio, duffle bag by Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane
2/ Shoes by Charlotte Olympia, socks by Tabio
3/ Shoes by Marc Jacobs, sock by Tabio
Photos by Olivia da Costa, Styling by Mathilde Toulot

We love everything is this allure : the Prada coat, the striped top, the lego Chanel bag, the used pair of jeans. Italian do it better ! // Photo by Olivia da Costa in Milan

Art deco + sequins + gold = We love Elie Saab fall-winter 13-14 clutches!!! // Photo by Olivia da Costa

All shades by L'Wren Scott spring-summer 2013 collection // collage by Sonia Gallego

All pieces by Chanel, shot in Singapore // Photos by Olivia da Costa

This is fashion weeks magic, it's snowing, freezing cold, and suddenly you have an apparition, a mermaid emerges from nowhere, wearing a poetic headband... // Photo by Olivia da Costa in Milan

Bulgari bought at Sotheby's Gina Lollobrigida's emerald earrings. The italian actress bought these uniques pieces in 1964 and had been wearing during her whole carreer.

Louis Vuitton is lanching this new bag, the double V. Which color do you prefer ? We like the yellow one ! To wear with the green damier dress of course ! // Photo by Olivia da Costa

We have a big osession right now on pink coats, and this one is just perfection !!! // Photo by Olivia da Costa in Milan

Don't go to Canne without these delicate shoes by Elie Saab // Photo by Olivia da Costa

Invited by Chopard to document my vision of the Cannes Film Festival, I lingered, wandered, bummed around, and rambled for four days at the Hotel Martinez. The Martinez during the Festival? The place to be for fifteen days, an impenetrable fortress, guarded by beefy, bad-tempered bouncers; a super-VIP citadel where only those with badges can enter.
My life at the Palace? I spent four days waiting for the elevator (there were only two tiny elevators, one of which was broken-impossible!), walking up and down the sublime Art Deco staircase (I got tired of waiting for the elevator!), bumping into stars in evening gowns at four in the afternoon (the best action is on the second floor, where L'Oreal has its suites!), running to the pool and the hotel's famous dock to take spur-of-the-moment photos ("quick, quick, big black clouds are coming!" --the weather was very capricious this year!) and getting snubbed by hotel personnel ("no photos in the hall please") or the assistants of Ellen Von Unwerth and Gilles Bensimon ("no photos, we're exclusive with W Magazine and Paris Match...!).
The four days were exhausting, but exhilarating. I had the impression of being ten all over again, of being in a dream, like all the other gawkers on the Croisette. And so, what was the result of all that running around?
In all that craziness, I shot Fan Bingbing (a mega-star in China, a bit like the Chinese Angelina Jolie) in her suite, in total darkness, curtains drawn (light isn't good for the skin! Too bad I never use flash on reportage!). I also spotted Marion Cotillard on the terrace of Chopard (oh right-- I forgot to tell you that the headquarters of Chopard is on the seventh floor of the hotel, an immense space with so many flowers I thought I was in the Sydney Botanical Gardens!). Marion was a meter away from me, deep in conversation with Lea Seydoux and Harvey Weinstein, THE American producer, basically God in Hollywood... I crossed paths with Cara Delevingne in the hall, pulling a ton of faces as usual, and Ines de la Fressange, who was lovely, posing in the (famous) second floor hallway. I saw Doutzen Kroes in the middle of a shoot in front of the elevator. I was introduced to Colin Firth, the ultra-mega-classy British actor. I photographed Blanca Suarez, the Spanish actress who won the Chopard trophy. Basically, my head was spinning nonstop. But the craziest moment was when I shot Jane Fonda! Yes, Jane Fonda, whose killer body made men fantasize, and women buy her cassettes to try to get her body, the woman who in 1972 scandalized Vietnam, and who fought for the rights of women... JANE FONDA!
Meeting a legend always does something to you. It makes an impression; your palms are always a bit sweaty when you pick up your camera. In the end, my first festival was insane and it took me a few days to come back down to earth...

NB : It wasn't at Hotel Martinez but I also spotted Paris Hilton, and I couldn't NOT post a picture of her!!

Text and photos by Olivia da Costa

Suede shoes by Ralph Lauren // Photo by Olivia da Costa

Chopard beautiful pieces during the Cannes film Festival // Photos by Olivia da Costa

Photos by Olivia da Costa

We had a big crush on EK Thongprasert, a jewelry designer based in Belgium, and his funky silicone necklaces imitating the precious high jewelry ones !

Chopard's lounge on the 7th floor of the Hotel Martinez is the best place to enjoy the Film Festival atmosphere. Special guests : Marion Cotillard, Colin Firth, Harvey Weinstein, Laua Bailey, Fan Bing Bing... // Photos by Olivia da Costa

Brigitte Bardot, Romy Schneider, Robert Redford, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Claudia Cardinale, Grace Kelly, Ursula Andress, Diana Ross, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, Warren Beatty, Marie Laforet, David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, John Lennon, Nathalie Wood

Chopard trophy rewarded yesterday 2 young actors, Blanca Suarez (Spain) and Jeremy Irvine (England) and then hosted a party at the Hotel Martinez. Colin and Livia Firth, Harvey Weinstein, Fan Bing Bing, Clotilde Coureau, Cara Delevingue, Laura Bailey attended and Solange Knowles performed magnificently // Photos by Olivia da Costa

I'm in Cannes to cover the Film Festival for Chopard, and it has already been very intense !!!!! Follow Chopard tumblr : http://chopardredcarpet.tumblr.com

Love the 1930's platform shoes // Photo by Olivia da Costa in Milan in September 2012