Gwyneth Paltrow is dealing with a lot of changes in her life. Less than two weeks ago, her son, Moses, began his freshman year of college at Brown, while her stepson, Brody, also just moved out for undergrad, leaving her and husband Brad Falchuk as empty nesters. Furthermore, it was just announced at the end of August that Paltrow will make her grand return to acting, taking on her first non-cameo or voice acting role in five years for A24’s Marty Supreme, also starring Timothée Chalamet.
But despite it being a very transitional time for Paltrow, she seems as collected and glamorous as ever when we connect at a Boucheron party during New York Fashion Week.
Titled “From Paris to New York: A Cutting-Edge Journey Since 1858,” the event celebrates the maison’s arrival in the Big Apple with 166 years of history behind it. Paltrow, an admirer of the brand, glimmers in its Quatre Radiant Edition tie necklace, as well as its moon white double rings, which she pairs with a plunging LBD and inky sandal heels from Roger Vivier.
“I’m always quite partial to old French brands,” she says as we sit on a bench in the scenic backyard of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. “I think there’s always something so inherently aspirational about these brands that have existed for all these years. And the quality’s so beautiful.”
Paltrow, who is the head of her own major company, is drawn to another aspect of Boucheron too: “Now, of course, they have both a female creative director and a female global CEO,” she says. [Which is] very rare.”
Throughout her decades in the spotlight, first as a Hollywood star and now as a leader in the lifestyle space with Goop, Paltrow’s personal taste has always leaned into quiet luxury. She describes her style as “minimal, elegant, preppy,” and you can see it in her most iconic looks, from her pink Ralph Lauren Oscars gown to the kelly green set she wore to play Estella in the 1998 adaptation of Great Expectations. But while her style relies on subtlety, Paltrow isn’t afraid of a good statement piece.
“I kind of go one of two ways,” she says, when I ask what her rules are for accessorizing. “I tend to go more chunky gold, day kind of stuff, or … I don’t mind a real fuck-off statement piece as well.” She then gestures to her white gold necklace, which is shaped like a bolo tie and embellished with sparkling diamonds, princess and baguette cuts. In a surprise twist, Paltrow has decided to wear the piece backward, with the rounded part resting on her front like a choker, while the tail cascades down her exposed back. It says: I’m magnificent—“don’t talk to me.”
Nevertheless, talking with Paltrow comes quite naturally, and when the conversation strays from jewelry and fashion, she opens about more personal things in her life, like the challenge of having no children in the house.
“It feels very different, I think I’m still a little bit in shock,” she says. “I’m trying to be open to this new migratory pattern that we can have. And they’re all really happy, so that’s like the most you can ask for. When I start to feel sad, I talk to them and then they’re so happy that it’s like—relief and happiness washes over me too.”
She adds, “It’s really momentous, you know. It’s like a huge end of a chapter in a certain way of parenting. It’s like you’re embarking on a new relationship in a way.”
But even though her kids are no longer living with her, they’re still very much the center of her world, and have a huge impact on Paltrow’s life. Just a couple of weeks back, news broke that the actor’s daughter, Apple, had convinced her mom to take the role in Marty Supreme, due to the younger woman’s obsession with Chalamet. In our conversation, Paltrow notes that it was also partly the influence of her brother, Jake, a huge fan of the film’s director, Josh Safdie.
When I ask her if she’s missed acting at all, Paltrow replies quite frankly. “Not really,” she says with a smile. But as for whether this new role might mark a continued return to the medium, her answer leaves me with a little bit more hope: “I am excited to kind of get back into it and give it a real try—see how it feels. And then I’ll let you know.”
