In Conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow for Frederique Constant


  • The Open Heart Timepiece by Frederique Constant

It is about time we and our sweet little world we reside in realise the importance of giving back to the community. Giving back, not just in the amounts we receive; but giving back in all our capacity. Yes, we do understand that it is a long way for the layman to involve himself and awaken the society around; but what if one of the most celebrated watch brands and a gorgeous, influential actress collaborate to do so? Now, that’s what makes for an influential collaboration.

Last Baselworld, Frederique Constant appointed Hollywood actress and philanthropist Gwyneth Paltrow as its new global charity brand ambassador. Both Gwyneth and Frederique Constant, staunch believers of charity, came together and pledged their support to DonorsChoose—a non-profit organisation that works towards the education of children—with an international charity advertising campaign. And while we are drooling over the glimpses from the shoot,  we landed an opportunity we just couldn’t refuse. We got a chance to converse with Gwyneth Paltrow, and the actress got talking about her association with the brand, passion for charity and last but not the least—her penchant for watches.

Gwyneth’s mother, very early in the actress’s childhood, had instilled in her a sense of responsibility towards the society, which laid the foundation of ‘giving back’ in her. She grew up very involved in community efforts, efforts to feed people with very little resources; she remembers preparing andserving meals at soup kitchens in California and NYC. Working closely with  the less fortunate, who were struggling, engaged her empathy, her anger at the systematic problems and her passion to be involved; which is one force that motivated Frederique Constant to appoint her as the Global Charity Brand Ambassadress for Frederique Constant.

Honoured to be a part of this campaign, Gwyneth shares, what appealed to her were the company’s value system and the belief to give back through charity.

The complete campaign was shot by noted British fashion and celebrity photographer Tom Munro. Gwyneth shares, “It was a great experience, especially working with Tom Munro. He is one of the well-known fashion and celebrity photographers in the world and people in the industry love to work with him.”

The sole reason Gwyneth recorded for backing DonorsChoose.org was that the organisation makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. “I feel that education is power and that so many of our issues will be addressed if we have an education system in place that bolsters critical thought and passion in our next generations,” adds Gwyneth on importance of education as a cause.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Through the organisation,over 1,70,00,000 students—most from low-income communities, and many in disaster-stricken areas—have received books, art supplies, field trips, technology, and other resources that they need to learn. And it is not just education as a cause that the ravishing actress champions, Gwyneth insists she is passionate about every single cause on the planet; right from GMO labelling, clean water, global warming to starvation; the list is endless. .

Not just celebrities and influencers, she believes it is equally important for brands to associate with a cause. “When we are associated with the brands for a good cause, in my opinion, the influencers should take that responsibility to enhance the brand values and support effectively.”

Another reason why Paltrow and Frederique Constant joined forces was the motto they live by—‘live your passion’. Paltrow affirms that she is fortunate her work has always stemmed out of passion.

To Gwyneth, timepieces serve as good anchors. When she straps a watch on, she feels grounded.  “It’s very presence reminds you that time is ticking away and we should always be doing what we are doing to the best of our ability.” She parts with a gem, only to motivate me to move ahead and give back to the community that I live in.

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