Stephanie Seymour wearing the Velvet Haute Joaillerie in white gold, photographed by Mikael Jansson

Celebrating the quintessence of muses, style icons and powerful women throughout the ages, Geneva watchmaker Roger Dubuis launches a five-part photo shoot depicting modern day diva, actress and model, Stephanie Seymour, as the personification of its voluptuously feminine Haute Joaillerie Velvet line. Impossibly beautiful and irresistibly glamorous, the shoot is a fascinating Haute Photography essay, directed by Roger Dubuis’ Creative Director Alvaro Maggini, in which Haute Horlogerie meets Haute Couture, artfully sublimated by internationally acclaimed fashion photographer Mikael Jansson.


Stephanie Seymour wearing the Velvet Haute Couture Passementerie, photographed by Mikael Jansson

Watch fans and watch industry observers have come to expect the unexpected from Manufacture Roger Dubuis on all levels, and will not be disappointed with this campaign, which is no exception to its golden rule. This was never going to be about picking just any model with an attractive face and figure, and popping a watch on her wrist against an appealing backdrop. Instead, Alvaro Maggini turned to a powerful icon – 21st century true-life diva, actress and model Stephanie Seymour, who embodies feminine maturity and shares a number of the Roger Dubuis values. He then decided to create a dramatic decor featuring minimalist touches, distinctive colours and meaningful, evocative poses. All are designed to express the soul of feminine glamour in an extremely specific manner reflecting the extravagance and saturated overtones of the photographic greats of early fashion Haute Photography.


Stephanie Seymour wearing the Velvet Haute Couture Mink Fur, photographed by Mikael Jansson

Timeless mystique
Shot by leading New York fashion photographer Mikael Jansson, the resulting ultra-stylised images provide a tantalising glimpse into the incredible world of the Roger Dubuis Diva through a set of five iconic photographic portraits capturing the essence of feminine beauty. In this striking series of shots, Stephanie Seymour models ive different timepieces from the Velvet collection, with each stage-setting and each creation depicting a different facet of timeless feminine mystique.

Femme fatale elevated to the rank of supermodel alongside greats such as Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz and Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour has been reigning on the catwalk for over 25 years and her incandescent beauty is more mesmerising than ever. Revealed by legendary master photographer, Richard Avedon, Stephanie Seymour has worked with many leading fashion magazines and designers, which naturally involved posing for well-known photographers including Herb Ritts and Mario Testino. A longstanding muse and great friend of the famous couturier Azzedine Alaïa, she has been the face of couture houses such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent, and recently became the incarnation of Modern Beauty for Estée Lauder.


Stephanie Seymour wearing the Velvet Haute Couture Corsetry, photographed by Mikael Jansson

Renowned for his technical prowess and emotionally charged images spanning all genres, Mikael Jansson became famous with the creation of epic features with the biggest names in modelling for some of the leading avant-garde publications of the mid-nineties. Strongly influenced by Avedon, with whom he had the opportunity to work, Mikael Jansson has a track record that includes Vogue and W Magazine, and is a veteran of memorable campaigns for various fashion greats.


Stephanie Seymour wearing the Velvet Haute Joaillerie in pink gold, photographed by Mikael Jansson

Inexhaustible inspiration
In creating the distinctive climate for this shoot, the ever-eclectic Alvaro Maggini drew creative stimulus from great names such as George Hurrell – master of Hollywood Glamour in the 1930s and 40s; Dahl-Wolfe and his ground-breaking work for Harper’s Bazaar; Horst P. Horst, the 20th century’s king of fashion photography; as well as Edward Steichen and Henry Clarke.

Maggini and Jansson also found powerful inspiration in the supermodel’s own passionate nature: intense, vibrantly alive, exuding a personality brimming with emotion, character and maturity, and totally dedicated to cultivating elegance and daring character. The result is an exclusive international fashion statement channelling a typically unconventional Roger Dubuis magic, in which the iconic style of the golden Hollywood era is revealed through a contemporary yet timeless figure who is the very epitome of femininity.


Velvet Haute Couture Mink Fur

As Alvaro Maggini explains: “Velvet is an anthem of praise to voluptuously feminine charm and an expression of discreet yet genuine luxury enhanced with a dash of daring spirit. Stephanie Seymour embodies this special kind of magic and is the perfect representative for this highly evocative line. Glamorous, bold, voluptuous and impossibly beautiful, Seymour brings more than just good looks to the party. Like the Diva, her totally uncompromising character reflects a wish to express the most extravagant side of each of the models in the Velvet Collection for which she is the inspiration. The reined models of the new Velvet Collection with their trompe l’oeil case design, midway between a circle and a “tonneau” or barrel shape, accentuate an audacious style, while countless precious touches caress the sensual curves of the collection. Velvet playfully revisits the Roger Dubuis codes with a new
sophistication along with a latest-generation calibre, the mechanical self-winding RD821 movement – designed and developed in-house according to the purest traditions of watchmaking.”
Femininity rules