Montblanc’s Star-Studded Gala for Wes Anderson’s “100 Years of Meisterstück” Film

Set to the eccentric glamour of The Paramour Estate, a goldenrod-toned Spanish Revival mansion perched atop L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood, Hamburg-based luxury maison Montblanc welcomed celebrity guests to toast the 100th anniversary of their most famous writing instrument, the Meisterstück. The whimsical 1920s residence and its dramatic Hollywood backdrop made for an apt setting, as the centerpiece of the evening was the premiere of a short film written, directed by and starring Wes Anderson. The lauded filmmaker has embarked upon a partnership with Montblanc that includes the film, entitled “100 Years of Meisterstück,” as well as a pen he’s designed, dubbed the “Schreiberling” (German for “Scribbler”), that will be released in 2025.

At the exuberant gala, itself a celebration of the craft of writing and all types of writers, “100 Years of Meisterstück” stars Jason Schwartzman and Rupert Friend were joined by other Anderson collaborators, including Adrien Brody and Waris Ahluwalia. Celebrity guests—including Kiernan Shipka, Emma Roberts, Simu Liu, Callum Turner, model Lucky Blue Smith and French football legend Zinedine Zidane—conversed poolside before exploring theatrical spaces that replicated sets from the short film, as well as an Anderson-inspired visual campaign for Montblanc by Charlie Day. A high-ceilinged ballroom transformed into a Meisterstück museum, with one pen dating back to 1924 and another laden with thousands of diamonds.

As the sun began to set, attendees dined al fresco on five sprawling tables positioned over a golden carpet on the estate’s great lawn. Leaf-patterned fabric runners were speckled with verdant arrangements of light green anthurium and moss. Songs from Wes Anderson film soundtracks filled the air as the light diminished, leaving only the glow of candles, an uplit periphery of trees and a handful of emerging stars. In lieu of bread, soft German pretzels were served with butter—and seasonal dishes were plated with a sense of spectacle. Flanked by two large screens playing a video of Mont Blanc under snow flurries, John Legend performed a series of songs, including “Ordinary People” (which was released 20 years ago this month) and his beloved ballad “All of Me.”

Featured alongside Friend and Ahluwalia in Gray’s new Montblanc visuals, Euphoria star Maude Apatow also attended the festivities. “I’m very honored to be involved in the campaign and to be celebrating this anniversary with so many people that I admire creatively, like Rupert Friend and Jason Schwartzman,” she tells Vogue. “Rushmore is actually my favorite movie of all time.”

Apatow, a writer herself, was an ideal fit for a campaign dedicated to the 100th anniversary of a fountain pen. “When I write, I can organize my thoughts,” she says. “I find that writing by hand makes it so much easier. I do it every day. When I’m learning lines, I will write everything out over and over again. It’s how I memorize them. I take so much more information in when I am writing things down by hand. Montblanc has created such an iconic pen. It’s the highest level of craftsmanship. There’s a reason the Meisterstück has been around for this long.”

All of the whimsy on display within the lavish gala and its afterparty (complete with an ornate speakeasy and A-Trak DJ set) and the glow of Montblanc’s Wes Anderson-inspired Rodeo Drive experiential pop-up (which pairs a sage-colored carpet with luminous yellow curtains, an emerald green screening room and a wood-clad cafe), might feel foreign to those familiar with the brand’s signatures, but Montblanc’s artistic director Marco Tomasetta says that these attributes were uncovered during research. “I think this pop-up and these colors and the new Meisterstück anniversary collections are the simple result of a desire between Wes Anderson and I to bring back things that already existed in the Montblanc archives. I think that what we are doing is freeing the possibilities the brand has,” he concludes, “because it already has all the ingredients to express itself.”