\u201cOne of the things I love about Dubai is the freedom with which people wear jewelry\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Sophie Claudel, Director of L\u2019\u00c9COLE Middle East, shares insights in an exclusive interview with GATE_DXB about the freedom people feel with jewelry in Dubai, the symbolism behind jewelry, and why you shouldn’t miss the exhibition <\/b>Men’s Rings<\/i><\/b> by Yves Gastou.<\/b><\/p>\n
Text: Natalia Maiboroda<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: provided by L\u2019ECOLE Middle East<\/span><\/p>\n Sophie, you\u2019ve worked in major cities like London and New York. What drew you to Dubai, and how does it differ from those other places?<\/b><\/p>\n Honestly, I didn\u2019t choose Dubai specifically; I chose the mission. I was offered a fantastic opportunity by Van Cleef & Arpels to open a campus here. When I found out it was in Dubai, I was thrilled because I knew very little about this region. This is my first time in the Middle East, and everything is a discovery for me. I\u2019ve been here a year and a half now, but it feels like I arrived just yesterday because it\u2019s been such an exciting and fast-paced experience. I absolutely love it!<\/span><\/p>\n What has been the most surprising part of Dubai for you, especially from a cultural or even a jewelry perspective?<\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019d say the diversity and openness here have been the most surprising. One of the things I love about Dubai is the freedom with which people wear jewelry \u2014 they wear whatever they like, whenever they like, regardless of time of day. This is quite different from places like Paris, where there are unwritten rules on when and how to wear certain types of jewelry. Here, there\u2019s such a unique blend of traditions and modernity, and it\u2019s truly inspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n You mentioned building a team from scratch. How has that been for you here?<\/b><\/p>\n In my previous role, I had a team of 55, and then I moved here with a fresh start. Now, my team has 17 people from 15 different nationalities, and it\u2019s like a mini United Nations! It\u2019s so enriching to have such diversity, even in languages \u2014 English, German, and sometimes Russian. It inspired me to start learning Russian!<\/span><\/p>\n Dubai must also appeal to your interest in architecture. Do you have any favorite buildings here?<\/b><\/p>\n Yes, I\u2019m passionate about architecture. The first thing I do when I arrive in a new city is study its master plan \u2014 it helps me understand how it functions and develops. Dubai\u2019s master plan is fascinating, and there are so many incredible buildings. But for me, the Burj Khalifa stands out as the ultimate masterpiece, not just for Dubai but for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Chicago-based architectural firm behind it. The proportions are absolutely perfect, and it\u2019s truly a marvel.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of Dubai\u2019s development, Van Cleef & Arpels opened its school here last year. Why did you feel this was the right time and place?<\/b><\/p>\n We really felt that it was the perfect moment because Dubai is developing at an incredible pace \u2014 it feels like the center of the world. The Middle East has a deep and strong history with jewelry, so it makes perfect sense for L\u2019\u00c9cole to be here. There\u2019s a rich heritage and a unique approach to wearing jewelry that we wanted to celebrate and explore. Dubai has become a magnet for global culture and tourism, so it felt like exactly the right place to expand.<\/span><\/p>\n In Dubai, men seem to wear jewelry with a sense of freedom that\u2019s not as common in other places. You recently opened an exhibition featuring men\u2019s jewelry. What inspired that?<\/b><\/p>\n The exhibition actually began in Paris in 2018 and wasn\u2019t initially planned to travel, but it was so well-received that we took it to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and now Dubai. Men have been wearing jewelry for centuries, but in recent years, there\u2019s been a renewed interest. Here, men seem very comfortable expressing themselves with jewelry, and I think that\u2019s fantastic.<\/span><\/p>\n Jewelry for men seems to have a different symbolic language. In the exhibition, I noticed a lot of skulls, spiders, and darker themes. Do you think there\u2019s a contrast between jewelry for men and women?<\/b><\/p>\n Absolutely. You\u2019re right \u2014 there\u2019s definitely a different approach. Men\u2019s jewelry often features symbols like skulls or spiders, which convey strength or even ideas about mortality. In contrast, women\u2019s jewelry might focus more on themes of beauty and eternity. It\u2019s a fascinating contrast. Men\u2019s rings, for example, often carry deeper symbolism, almost like a story that\u2019s personal to the wearer.<\/span><\/p>\n Jewelry is such a personal form of expression. Do any of the pieces you wear carry a special meaning?<\/b><\/p>\n Of course! My jewelry is very meaningful to me. On my left hand, I wear rings that represent my husband\u2014they\u2019re gifts from him, so they hold a lot of love and sentiment. On my right hand, I wear a ring from my mother, who is far away in France. It\u2019s a daily reminder of her, and I think of her every time I put it on. I also have a ring from Van Cleef & Arpels that I started wearing when I moved to Dubai, which symbolizes my new life here.<\/span><\/p>\n This exhibition in Dubai showcases around 700 pieces. Are there any standout pieces that you\u2019d recommend visitors not to miss?<\/b><\/p>\n Yes, there\u2019s a lion piece that I absolutely love. It might not be the most visually spectacular, but it\u2019s rich in detail. We used it in all our communication materials for the exhibition. It\u2019s in the final part of the exhibition, and if you look at it closely, you\u2019ll find so many intricate details. I could spend an hour just admiring it, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019d still find new details each time.<\/span><\/p>\n And finally, if you could create your dream exhibition, what would it look like?<\/b><\/p>\n That\u2019s a wonderful question! I\u2019d love to curate an exhibition that combines jewelry with contemporary art. Imagine jewelry displayed alongside modern paintings, sculptures, or video art, each piece in conversation with one another. It would be fascinating to bring together those two worlds, but it would require careful curation. It\u2019s something I would love to see come to life.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cOne of the things I love about Dubai is the freedom with which people wear jewelry\u201d Sophie Claudel, Director of L\u2019\u00c9COLE Middle East, shares insights in an exclusive interview with GATE_DXB about the freedom people feel with jewelry in Dubai, the symbolism behind jewelry, and why you shouldn’t miss the exhibition Men’s Rings by Yves…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-interview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3064,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions\/3064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatedxb.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}