What’s a clear indication of dominance in the modelling world? Since her rise to prominence in the mid-2010s, Bella Hadid has been breaking records. The 27-year-old has graced an astounding 147 magazine covers, served as a muse to clothing lines and beauty brands, and, in pop culture and PR worlds, has become an essential indicator of whether a campaign is going to be successful or, even better, viral.
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A prime example of this is when Hadid immortalised a viral moment at the Coperni spring-summer 2023 show in Paris by having a futuristic slip dress spray-painted onto her body live on the runway, generating a media impact value of US$26.3 million, an estimate by brand performance solutions provider, Launchmetrics.
Her unique facial features, characterised by her blue-green eyes, distinct angles and captivating contours, have unsurprisingly made her a muse for photographers and designers alike. To this end, a cosmetic surgeon in central London, Dr Julian De Silva, has even declared Hadid’s face to be 94.35 per cent “accurate” to the golden ratio of beauty phi, a measure of physical perfection or an “ideal standard” of beauty.
ChopardIce Cube earrings
But Hadid’s influence—with an Instagram following of 61.3 million—extends far beyond her striking appearance and stunning statistics. Her openness about personal struggles, including her battle with Lyme disease and mental health challenges, has endeared her to a global audience seeking authenticity in their role models. This vulnerability, coupled with her unwavering commitment to her heritage—born to a Dutch mother and Palestinian father—and her activism for human rights and social justice, has positioned Hadid as a modern-day renaissance woman: beautiful, bold, and unafraid to stand up for her beliefs.
PR agency Karla Otto coined the term “Bella effect” to refer to the significant impact that the supermodel has on social media, fashion shows, and brand visibility. Named to describe her unique influence, the term highlights how her presence can elevate a brand’s visibility and engagement exponentially, as exemplified at the Coperni spring-summer 2023 show. Her influence is not just limited to fashion shows but also extends to her strong stance on social and political issues, making her a powerful and multifaceted figure in contemporary culture.
See also: Bella Hadid wears Chopard's red carpet high jewellery collection at Cannes Film Festival 2021
To that end, Hadid has emerged as more than just a supermodel; she’s become a cultural phenomenon, a voice for change, and now, the luminous face of Chopard’s iconic Ice Cube collection. It is this very essence of Hadid—her multifaceted nature—that makes her the perfect ambassador for the Swiss jeweller.
Chopard IceCube High Jewellery cuff
In a campaign titled “Sculpted by Light,” Hadid brings to life the minimalist ethos and contemporary character of the jewellery line. The campaign, shot by the renowned British fashion photographer Charlotte Wales, is a feat in visual storytelling. It places Hadid in an abstract urban setting, adorned with Chopard’s radiant cubes, set against a night skyline infinitely repeated in an appealing play of mirrors. The intended result is a juxtaposition of two icons—Hadid and Ice Cube, a supermodel and a dazzling star—each enhancing the other’s brilliance.
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The Ice Cube collection, first introduced by Chopard’s co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele in 1999, pays homage to minimalism and geometric perfection. Its central motif, the cube, is a celebration of simplicity that magnifies light, reflecting the Bauhaus movement’s principles of functionality and uncluttered aesthetics.
ChopardIce Cube pendant
What sets Ice Cube apart is its deceptive simplicity. Each cube features an identically repeated motif and the four symmetrical edges are subtly faceted, creating a myriad of refraction points that amplify the jewellery’s brilliance—a design cultivated by a fusion of high technology and artisanal skill that Chopard is renowned for. Highly technical machining, born from six years of research and development, allows for perfect milling that creates taut lines on minute surfaces. This process, accurate to the nearest hundredth of a centimetre, produces a pre-polished surface of exceptional quality.
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The final touches—the mirror-polish and diamond paving—are executed exclusively by hand, combining state-of-the-art techniques with classic craftsmanship revered by Chopard admirers. Perhaps where Chopard and the sought-after supermodel align meaningfully, is in their ethical considerations. Since 2017, the use of ethical gold in the production of Chopard’s pieces has been a cornerstone of its commitment to sustainability. This approach aligns perfectly with Hadid’s own advocacy work, creating a synergy between ambassador and brand that goes beyond mere aesthetics. It’s easy to see how the Ice Cube collection, with its perfect geometry and ethical foundation, would be a natural fit for Hadid’s multifaceted persona.
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