For Jessica Alba, love has never looked like a Hollywood script. “Over time, I’ve learned to embrace every version of how love can show up,” the actress tells ELLE. “Love shows up in so many different ways, and it’s not always grand gestures. Sometimes it’s just holding space.”
Alba brings that philosophy with her in Gabriel & Co.’s new campaign, which is rooted in the jeweler’s “Love, Perfected” ethos. Set against the charming backdrop of New York City, the actress is captured in intimate, everyday moments that spotlight the quiet beauty of meaningful connection—both with oneself and those she loves.
Christian Hunter
(Christian Hunter)
Alba’s effortless approach to dressing pairs naturally with Gabriel & Co.’s Bujukan offerings, the brand’s signature collection inspired by the Balinese art of persuasion.
In one image, Alba dresses up jeans and an Oxford shirt with 14K white and yellow gold and diamond earrings—hoops, of course—and mixed white and yellow gold bangles. In another, she is evening-wear-ready in a plunging cocktail dress with both wrists lined with Gabriel & Co. jewels. “The bangles are great because you can stack them with a watch or other fine jewelry pieces,” the actress says. “Or I could wear it with a T-shirt or even a suit—I like jewelry that you can wear with anything.”
Ahead, ELLE catches up with Alba to talk all things love, jewelry, and her new campaign for Gabriel & Co.
What prompted this partnership with Gabriel & Co.?
I like that you can stack the jewelry, and you can really wear it every day. There’s special occasion jewelry, but there’s something great about being able to layer and wear your jewelry with a T-shirt. You don’t always have to be out to a nice dinner or for a special occasion. Wearing it every day makes it feel more lived in and more connected. I also love the fact that two brothers started the brand. I thought that was really sweet and there’s a real connection to the pieces. They even have a serial number for each piece.
What story did you hope the campaign would tell?
Christian Hunter, the photographer, wanted to capture these intimate moments that you have with jewelry, evoking the way love can come to life for each person. Capturing the quiet moments, but with New York City as the backdrop where the company was founded and what inspires the designers.
What’s your approach to layering and styling jewelry?
I like a mix. Sometimes I really like to layer bold with dainty. If there’s some kind of symbolism, or if the stone is calling to me. A lot of it is who gives it to me and the intention behind it, because it’s also just about the memory that I hold and thinking of that person when I see the piece. I feel their energy so connected to a jewelry piece that I have.
What does “Love, Perfected” mean to you personally?
It’s messy, it’s fun, it’s joyful, it’s patient. It can be erratic, but it could also be quiet. “Love, Perfected” is all the different juxtapositions through which love can be expressed, which we really did capture. There’s a range of joyful, blissful moments that they captured with the jewelry, but then the really quiet moments where you’re sitting inside your heart, inside yourself, and with yourself.
Has your understanding of love evolved over time?
It’s not always a movie or a rom-com. Sometimes love is just sitting there when someone’s not feeling well and rubbing their head, or just allowing someone to rage and giving them space. But still being there and knowing that nothing they can do can push you away.
How do you protect your relationships in such a public-facing world?
I can’t control [that] everyone has a camera now and the ability to [record] you. You kind of feel like you’re in the zoo when you’re out in the wild. The one thing I’ve been able to do is try and control the narrative as much as possible through my own social media. I found that’s the only place where I feel like I have control over the narrative of how my life shows up. Now, mind you, it’s edited and curated, but it just feels less chaotic than other people’s versions of who I might be that don’t know me. You also just can’t care so much about exterior people who don’t know you deeply or care for you deeply. You have to take everything with a grain of salt, the ups and the downs of people’s perceptions.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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