"Happy birthday Mr. President", Marilyn Monroe sang in 1962 to congratulate the 45th birthday of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in New York's Madison Square Garden before more than 15 thousand people. She did so wearing a tight, sleeveless long white dress that contained no less than 2,500 hand-sewn Swarovski crystals. Elton John also opted for this jewelery house to show off one of the garments that would crown his 'Rocketman' wardrobe: a blue jacket with a large rocket on the back full of crystals that would flood, ascending, the silhouette of the piece causing a light explosion that deserved applause. A compliment that was also shared by many other celebrities, such as Cher or Dita Von Teese in the stylistic bets in which Swarovski participated starring in his silhouettes.

The history of this jewelery house, which began more than a hundred years ago at the hands of its founder, Daniel Swarovski, has a long history and a close relationship with the artistic universe. Beyond the design and the jewelery journey of the firm, the successes that it accumulates add up to many of the events and stellar public appearances of great recognized personalities from around the globe. A true mirror of this is the new exhibition that the Swarovski Kristallwelten has just inaugurated, 'The Art of Performance', a new Chamber of Wonders in the center that opens its doors to show us the relationship between its jewelry and Hollywood artists.

In this spectacular enclave of Wattens (Innsbruck, Austria), the center's cultural director, Carla Rumler; the CEO of Swarovski Kristallwelten, Stefan Isser, the set designer, Derek McLane, and the fashion designer, Michael Schmidt combine synergies and open to the public a new exhibition that joins the other 16 in the center, perfect for music lovers, cinema, theater, sports and, of course, fashion.

In this room, which is the third to welcome its visitors, Michael Schmidt makes an exquisite selection of original pieces from the costumes of different artists, but also reinterprets other iconic garments from the artistic universe and duplicates them with Swarovski crystals to pay homage to tradition of the jewelry house and its long relationship with Hollywood.

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"They are not just fabulous and beautiful garments, it is a sample that connects humanity. All these suits are special and evoke a specific time or moment. They represent great situations of entertainment and our culture," the designer tells us. Nothing far from reality since 'The Art of Performance' combines contemporary nods, such as gymnast Simone Biles' tights or the spectacular Moschino chandelier dress worn by Katy Perry at the 2019 MET Gala, to other historical pieces such as shoes Dorothy's (Judy Garland) reds, in 'Wizard of Oz', the jeweled dress with which Marlene Dietrich dazzled in 'The Blond Venus' or Michael Jackson's iconic diamond-encrusted white glove during his 'Bad Tour', in addition to other silhouettes of celebrities like Cher, Lady Gaga or Nicole Kidman.

In 2015 Carla Rumler had the idea, she transferred it to Schmidt three years ago and, after meeting in Hollywood and visiting the designer's studio, the cultural director entrusted her with the commission, which at first, as he himself says, was intended to to be released last year, on the occasion of Svarowski's 125th anniversary: ​​"It was what we had planned, but it couldn't be because of the situation the world was going through. Somehow this helped us because obtaining and creating some things take a long time, like the search, the logistics... So the truth is that this extra year we needed it, it was good to develop everything and I had a lot of help".

This exhibition brings the visitor closer to some of the most memorable designs in history. It brings the magic of jewelry, entertainment and creation to a shimmering space where you can fully immerse yourself in the world of Hollywood, merging all these branches into one place.

"There are times, especially those that are live, when you need to reach people from the farthest places and you only get it by embellishing it with crystals. Many times you have an idea and you want to make something big happen, but the ideas of the whole and then it occurs to you to add a Swarovski and everything becomes magical", Michael Schmidt tells us about the meaning that this firm has for him and his work, and clarifies: "Few companies can say the same. There are others They try to duplicate it, but no: there is nothing like Swarovski. I am very proud to create this magic with them and to maintain this relationship for 30 years".

The talent combo of all those who have participated in this exhibition manages to create a movie scenario that overcame one of the most difficult chapters in history, that of the pandemic. Despite the fact that this cessation of activity helped them to develop the exhibition with greater detail and dedication, 'The Art of Performance' was not exempt from delaying its staging, but the greatest difficulty, says Schmidt, was the selection of pieces and the contact with the artists who dressed them: "They are protective and know that their dresses can be exhibited at some time in museums, exhibitions... That's why they don't like to show these things frequently, but luckily and because they work with them at other times, I already knew some of these entertainment characters so calling them was easier for me than it would be for someone else. It's still a challenge, but all wonderful things are."

You will be able to visit this exhibition at the Swarovski Kristallwelten in Wattens, Innsbruck (Austria), once the social restrictions are lifted from December 12. Tickets are on sale on the cultural center website.