Tessa Thompson shares Neiman Marcus memories, favorite gift ideas – The Hollywood Reporter

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission.

For Tessa Thompson, the best gifts are priceless.

“I feel really lucky to have my family give me homemade gifts. My mom recently gave me a present for my birthday that made me cry.” Thor: Love and Thunder the star said to The Hollywood Reporter between her hosting duties at Neiman Marcus’ 2022 Imaginary Gifts celebration. The luxury department retailer took over the Hollywood Sports Club on October 25 for its annual charity gala, which featured a range of budget-saving gifts for the Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation, Boys & Grils Club of America, Chi Prep Academy, Keller Restaurant Relief Fund, Barbie Dream Gap Project and other charities.

“Coming to co-host this event is to know how focused they are on philanthropy during this time of year,” Thompson said. “We have a strong emphasis on giving back in truly charitable ways, and their long relationship with the Boys and Girls Club, an organization I joined as a child, means a lot to me. with me as a child. And for all of those reasons, I’m glad to be here tonight. “

Join Thompson at the glamorous hotel featuring her stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald and other star-studded guests including host Lupita Nyong’o Westworld co-stars Angela Sarafyan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, fashion editor Joe Zee, fashion designer Jonathan Simkhai, Broadway actor Colman Domingo, Hollywood power stylist Jason Rembert, Kathy Hilton, Ella Travolta and others.

Among the decadent fantasy gifts on display are a $65,000 trip to Paris with French perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, a picturesque Napa Valley experience for $175,000, a holiday home decor session with Jim Marvin (who has decorated the hallways and walls of the White House for over 20 years) for $190,000, a Barbie x Maserati Grecale Trofeo SUV for $330,000, a basketball game against NBA legend Scotty Pippin and his son, Scotty Pippen Jr. for $333,333 and Cartier’s $3.2 million Art Deco diamond tiara, among others. (Most are still waiting to get it.)

The festival also showcases luxury goodies like crystal clutches designed for (and signed by) the Kardashians and Jenners by Judith Leiber, luxury ski gear by Bogner and Moncler, and pink Barbiecore accessories. by Balenciaga and Ugg, colorful crockery from Fornasetti and Ginori 1735, sparkling blue Grinch heels from Aquazzura, crystal vases by Baccarat and more.

Fresh WestworldThompson plays a crisis helpline volunteer as the only on-screen actor on Steve Buscemi’s Listener. (Margaret Cho, Alia Shawkat and Rebecca Hall were among those acting as off-screen callers.) She played Bianca in Creed IIIin which she starred alongside actor and director Michael B. Jordan.

In a conversation with CHEAP At the Neiman Marcus event, Thompson shared more about that heartfelt gift, why she recently stepped out on the red carpet in a green outfit (including at the National Film Festival). This year’s Venice festival and the premieres of Creed II and Bones and all), her unwrapped gifts, her fondest memories of luxury retail and more. Read on below, and shop for some of the coolest gifts from Neiman Marcus inspired by our conversation with the star.

We have to tell you how much we loved your neon green look last year at our Women in Entertainment event where you were the presenter.

Thank you! I love that look. I went through a really different green phase, had a press tour, and I wear green on basically every rug. I was in a real green moment.

Green can sometimes signify growth, right?

It To be evolution. Apparently it is connected to your heart chakra. I really like to wear black and I feel like I like black the most. And I think it’s always been elegant – about wearing bold color and owning it. It’s not just for you, since everyone participates in it, it’s a bright thing.

It lifts morale. I feel like we all need that!

It To be uplifting, and I also think that for fashion as well, wearing such colors is a sign that you don’t take it too seriously or take yourself too seriously. But sometimes I have to shake off my bad mood.

In the spirit of gift-giving, what’s the most unforgettable gift you’ve received recently?

I feel really lucky to be given homemade gifts by my family. My mom recently gave me a present for my birthday that made me cry. It was a beautiful ceramic vase that she made with her own hands. I really love ceramics, but only when she tells me what she’s inspired by, which is the moon and also this dual-feeling metal. It’s this round [shape that] feels like the moon, and this dish can be versatile. I really love the moon, so I think that a gift like that feels very attached, an expression of someone saying “I know you, I see you”, those are gifts that really matter. important to me.

And ends [with] My parents, my father is a carpenter. He usually does for me something really nice and thoughtful. I bought my first house and will move in soon. It was a really big deal, so he made for my birthday a beautiful guestbook that was bound, but then it went inside this wooden structure. So those I think are the best gifts for me.

Have you inherited any of their crafty gifting skills?

I’m not crafty! I have to try again, I think sometimes my Achilles’ heel is that I want to be instantly good at something, and often when you work with your hands, it’s a craft, like like [acting]. So I went with my mother to make pottery and I was not good! I don’t know if it is [because of] see Ghost. I thought for sure that I would be good, and I was therefore not good. It really made me realize how impatient I was.

Are you a Virgo?

I am a Libra, but I am a dual Virgo elsewhere in my chart. So I think there’s an idea of ​​perfection and efficiency that when you’re learning something new it’s not always possible. So I want to be more crafty but I like to do it myself at home and get organized. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at archiving which I also think is a skill and craft.

Do you like giving gifts?

I do! I really, really like gift wrapping. They mean a lot to me. I think part of it is also because I come from the theater, and in the theater you give the opening night and closing night gifts. I think in a way, giveaways are a really big deal for a company. So I always wrap presents in TV and movies, and I usually try to do something, specific to the person you spend, in some cases, three to six months with someone.

I don’t make an engraved gift for everyone. But I often see things that are individual to each person. It’s also a great way, I find that sometimes when you’re finishing work and having all these emotions come up, it’s a really good way to distract yourself and get excited about giving. something like a parting gift. helps them remember your times and, in terms of gifts, is a way you tell someone you see them.

I think about it in terms of the people you spend time with. And especially for the crew, they work really hard, so giving gifts that help them take care of themselves is a favorite. There are so many Theraguns, so many massages, so many gift certificates, so many facials given away, so many palo santo, bath products, so many self-care measures for the sake of work. Shooting can be very difficult.

Since we’re here for Neiman Marcus, do you have any happy memories of shopping there?

All of my grandparents were to some extent glamourous; they come from an era where you wear gloves and a hat and you look classy while traveling. And so I think I’ve always had a connection with these larger brand stores, where I imagine elegant women can shop and be in one of those stores with one of the grandmothers. mine.

I feel like Neiman Marcus has always had this in mind that it’s always been a place where I can shop one day if I’m elegant and mature enough. And I certainly had a more recent time when I was shopping at Neiman Marcus to buy a dress for a wedding, there was a very specific color scheme for the dress so I spent a few hours shopping there. there. And I definitely felt like, Oh, I’m like a grown woman, I’m the woman I want to be, who I imagine I’ll be when I watch my grandmothers dress up in their closets. There’s something about it that makes me feel nostalgic, especially growing up in Los Angeles.