The French Riviera may be best known for glitzy resort towns like Saint-Tropez and Cannes, but nothing quite compares to the famed Palais Bulles — better known as the ‘Bubble Palace’ — an extravagant architectural masterpiece that was once the vacation home of the late fashion legend Pierre Cardin.
When the opportunity arose for Highsnobiety to explore this legendary estate, we wanted to tell a visually arresting story with the Bubble Palace at the center of it all. That’s why we partnered with Tiffany & Co. and famed French fashion photographer Julien Boudet, better known as @bleumode, on a lookbook that takes us away to the shores of the French Riviera and onto the steps of the Palais Bulles itself. Fashion editor and activist Rawdah Mohamed and model and actor Yannick Konan star in the accompanying short film, exploring themes of love as they discover this architectural marvel.
The cavernous 13,000-square-foot villa took 14 years to build and was finally completed in 1975. It boasts 29 rooms and an outdoor theater that seats up to 500 people. While we couldn’t explore every nook and cranny of the palace, our stylish cast wanders the perimeter taking in its eclectic, cellular forms all while stunting luxe Tiffany & Co. eyewear and accessories. Echoing the unmistakable House motif, the Tiffany T eyewear collection is a study in sleek design. Tiffany HardWear also features industrial shapes, elegantly playing with tension, proportion, and balance — not unlike the unique curvatures of the great Palais.
In a way, the palace is the ideal setting to showcase Tiffany’s latest selection of wares. Its architect, Antti Lovag, famously hated straight lines and thought they were “an aggression against nature.” So he designed it as a “form of play — spontaneous, joyful, full of surprise,” similar to the Tiffany accessories featured here. That’s precisely why Boudet picked this location. “It makes total sense because Lovag designed it as something playful and fun while remaining chic and avant-garde at the same time,” he says. “This reminded me of the values conveyed by these sunglasses from Tiffany, especially with the shapes and the design that match those from this incredible Palais.”
For Stini Röhrs, director of the short film, she wanted to tell a story about love without being too heavy-handed. “[Love is] strong, but at the same time so fragile. The layers to it are manifold. It’s a process. That’s why we told this story in different passages,” she says. “Coming home to love, as a road of leaving the world behind, eclipsing from time. The individuality of love — being together apart in a safe space, as well as the unconditionality of love, taking your partner with open arms.”
Explore the full lookbook to see more of the Bubble Palace and discover Tiffany’s latest accessories at tiffany.com.
