Archive: May 23rd, 2008

Tonya Wise/London Ent/Splash News

Anyone can buy a dress off the rack, but when Michelle Williams began to ready for her first trip down the red carpet since Heath Ledger’s death, only something special would do. The actress was radiant in a Chanel Haute Couture lace dress made in 1926 pulled from the house’s archives. Her stylist Cher Coulter tells PEOPLE that they started by “digging through archives to find something memorable and demure.We were honestly inspired by her hair.” And when the dress arrived in New York, “it felt so precious and special and perfect for Michelle. It echoed her effortless sense of style, always keeping things original and elegant.” Her feathered Manolo Blahnik sandals came from Jeffrey New York — Coulter describes them as “soft and pretty and the perfect color for the dress.” And as for Michelle, she “fell in love with it straight away.” We have too! Click here to see all the glamorous stars at Cannes.

–Reporting by Courtney Rubin

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

The annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit kicked off in the hills high above Cannes yesterday. Last year, George Clooney auctioned off a kiss for $300,000, but this year Madonna’s alligator Chanel purse was the star of the show. The black alligator bag with a clasp studded with 334 diamonds was the actual purse she carried to the event, and that’s not all. She even gave up everything in the haute couture bag including Shu Uemura blotting paper, lip gloss — “It actually touched my lips”, Madonna noted — lip balm, a magnifying mirror, and throat lozenges. The only thing she took out was her blackberry and phone, explaining “I’m not going to give up my blackberry and phone because that’s too expensive for you.” The final winning bid? 300,000 euros — that’s over $471,000 — for AIDS research! Sorry George, looks like Madonna’s chic purse is worth more than your kiss. As Madonna joked, “That’s cheap. Everyone’s kissed George Clooney.” Check out a behind the scenes peek at the amfAR benefit, including Madonna’s auction and Sharon Stone’s welcome.
– Reporting by Courtney Rubin