Ariana DeBose Celebrates the Present Moment with Omega Amid Oscars Weekend

The Swiss watch brand celebrates the Academy Award-winning actor with a star-studded dinner in Los Angeles

Nestled in the West Hollywood hills of the City of Angels, Swiss watchmaker, OMEGA celebrated its long-standing ambassadorship with Academy Award-winning actor, Ariana DeBose. Hosted by Arnaud Michon, OMEGA US Brand President & CEO of Swatch, the intimate dinner took place just shy of the upcoming 95th Academy Awards awards this Sunday.

Arnaud Michon, Ariana DeBose

Before VIPs arrived, DeBose, known for her outstanding role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story reboot sits with me to catch up. Humble, warm, and wide-eyed with a smile to boot, she confesses: “First of all, anytime there’s an event that celebrates me, I’m shocked anyone shows up! But this is so special because I’m doing it with an incredible partner like OMEGA, and they’ve been by my side through this whole awards journey.”

Avo Yermagyan, Angela Sarafyan

Unbeknownst to us, the space is slowly trickling in with creatives and tastemakers, such as Academy Award Nominee Ke Huy Quan, Amazon Prime series heartthrob Summer I Turned Pretty’s Gavin Casalegno, West World’s blue-eyed muse Angela Sarafyan, and more, all wearing their metallic OMEGA timepieces.

Gavin Casalegno

DeBose, sporting an all-black Didit Hediprasetyo ensemble, speaks with ease, and enthusiastic hand gestures, when the sparkling rose gold OMEGA Constellation watch catches the light. “My style is both sleek, chic, and all about joy,” she says, lifting her wrist so we can get a closer look at her diamond-encrusted timepiece. “I gravitate towards rose gold a lot and being a beautiful woman of color, I think it just like pops on our skin.” Agreed. 

Aside from the West Side Story actor’s impeccable aesthetic taste in hardware, it’s no surprise that her intentions overall are deliberate and strewn with deeper conscious meaning. “I mark special moments in my life by time. It’s such an honor to wear a watch like this. It’s a beautiful investment in the moment that you’re in,” says DeBose.

Ariana DeBose

Though rooted in the present, for DeBose, the future is bright. With consecutive projects dropping this fall, she’s looking forward to proving she is more than a “one-trick pony” for winning awards for a movie musical and ready to dominate new challenges and the silver screens.

OMEGA has been persistent in carving out space for women in a world of watches originally dominated by male aficionados. With that, Debose and I continue to discuss what makes her a strong woman of color in her own right. “Vulnerability is a strength,” replies DeBose. “The world does come at us women of color differently. But it is about showing that you can be soft again and leaning into your femininity.”

Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose

Although presence is a concept that is often overlooked, the heritage brand enabled guests to be grounded in the present of celebrating new heights and a new era for the excellency of Ariana DeBose, women of color, and their milestones to come.

 

Discover More