The Ruby Garter of Marlène Dietrich explores the interior presence of an icon defined not by pageantry, but by the strength of her personality. The portrait reveals a restrained, almost meditative face, where light glides over the skin and brings forth a silent emotion, far from spectacle and public performance.

 

At the center of the image, the famous garter bracelet becomes an essential motif. Gregory restores every crystal, recreating the jewel as a living piece of memory. Two variations exist: in the Crystal Black version, the bracelet blends into the tone of the image, playing on the depth and density of black, while the subtle colorization allows the softness of the skin and costume to emerge. In the Crystal Rose version, the jewel recaptures the spirit of its original brilliance, like a reinterpreted ruby, between precious intensity and emotional vibration.

 

These two readings do not oppose each other. They reveal two resonances of the same symbol: the jewel as an extension of identity, between brilliance, fragility and self-assertion.

 

A quote from Marlène Dietrich, discreetly hidden within the work, whispers her inner truth:

 

“I’m not an actress, I’m a personality.”

 

It appears as a secret confidence, reminding us that, behind the icon, remains a woman who chose to exist according to her own legend.

The work does not merely evoke a cinema myth: it restores its breath and presence, in a dialogue between history, matter and a contemporary gaze.