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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

U.S. Celebrates 250 Years Of Independence; Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Are Married; Peru Elects Keiko Fujimori As President. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 04, 2026 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:04:02]

ELEX MICHAELSON: , CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to The Story Is. Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

It's just past midnight on the 4th of July, but celebrations for America's 250th birthday are well underway. President Trump started things off with a speech at Mount Rushmore. There was also a large fireworks display and pretty spectacular lighting as well.

Meanwhile, extreme heat is forcing changes to Saturday's plans. The parade in Washington, D.C. was canceled due to high temperatures.

Guests and family members are believed to be celebrating into the wee hours after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce tied the knot a few hours ago. They exchanged their vows in front of about a thousand people in New York's Madison Square Garden. The couple's longtime friend, actor Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony.

Peru as a new president after conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori was declared the winner of a razor thin election. Fujimori is the latest is the eldest daughter of former Peruvian president. She edged out left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez by just under 50,000 votes.

[01:05:06]

Millions of mourners are expected to descend on Tehran for a massive day long. She edged out left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez by just under 50,000 votes. Millions of mourners are expected to descend on Tehran for a massive days long funeral honoring the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S. Israeli strike earlier this year. The public portion of his funeral is now underway. The mosque in Tehran where Khamenei's casket is on display will stay open a continuous 24-hour farewell ceremony.

Our FREDERIK PLEITGEN is there in Tehran as we look at a live picture from Tehran. He operates only with the permission of the government, but we maintain full editorial control of our reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voiceover):

As the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, one of the first targeted assassinations. Iran's longtime Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed along with several family members in a massive airstrike. More than four months later, Iran is getting ready to hold possibly the largest funeral events in this country's history.

PLEITGEN: Final preparations are underway here at the gigantic Musalla complex in central Tehran and security in the city is extremely tight as millions of people are set to show up and pay their final respects.

PLEITGEN (voiceover): Tehran is plastered with images of the late Supreme Leader, posters, billboards and even statues of on buildings and in public squares, many vowing revenge against the U.S. and Israel for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

We don't trust the US for any type of negotiations, this woman says. Trump is the most bloodthirsty enemy in all the world. And she says it is our message from here to all the world that all people should stand up, everyone should rise and give the slogan of Death to the oppressors, Death to America.

This man says we do not expect peace from the enemy. Our experience has proven this to us.

After the U.S. and Israel killed the Supreme Leader and parts of Iran's political and military leadership, Tehran regrouped quickly naming Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader, who still has not been seen in public since taking the reins and only communicates by written statements. Iran also launching powerful missile and drone strikes and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

With a shaky ceasefire holding for now, Iran's political and military leaders were some of the first to pay their final respects at the coffins lying in state, including the president, foreign minister and chief negotiator. Among the caskets, a tiny one containing the remains of Ayatollah Khamenei's granddaughter.

Without a doubt, this martyrdom has Strengthened our resolve, this Revolutionary Guard general says. Today with even greater determination we address the enemies of the Iranian nation, the United States and the Israeli regime and say we will hold them accountable for the blood of our martyred leader and all of our martyrs'. Vows of retribution even as both sides negotiators aim to achieve a peace agreement looking to end the decades long standoff between the U.S. and Iran. Fred Pleitgen, CNN Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Joining us now live is political scientist Benjamin Radd. He's a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle center for the International Relations currently teaching at USC.

Ben, welcome back to The Story Is. We are watching this funeral happen now live in Tehran. We have live pictures of it.

The question is he died a long time ago. Why is this happening now?

BENJAMIN RADD, POLITICAL SCIENTIST: It's not because it's the 4th of July and it's not because there's a wedding taking place in New York City. I think they're waiting for Mojtaba, the son. They were waiting for him to emerge, for him to basically take the reins of leadership for the torch to be passed. That didn't happen. It still hasn't happened.

I think that's the central question here. We haven't seen him. Many expected him to make some kind of appearance or statement and I think they waited as long as they could and they needed to have the ceremony.

MICHAELSON: Where do you think he is?

RADD: Incapacitated? I'm not convinced that he is functioning or able to function. I mean they couldn't even do like a voice recording, something where him, you know, reciting a passage or verse from the Quran, a prayer, something as an homage to his father to acknowledge what they see as the martyrdom. Nothing. So --

MICHAELSON: So I mean could it be a security concern that they don't want him out there in public?

RADD: They don't have to have him out there in public. They can have a video message. They can have an audio message. They can -- they can have it beam from someplace secure. I mean there's ways to do this to at least indicate that the -- the torch has been passed, right? And we didn't see that instead of honoring or heralding the new leader, they're honoring a dead one.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

RADD: And that, that tells you something about where the regime is.

MICHAELSON: So we see a massive crowd that's out there right now. We know that this is part of a multi-day, multi country celebration, including going to Iraq. What's the significance of that?

[01:10:05]

RADD: Yes. That's a good point. And Iraq is part of -- it's a central part of Iran's axis of resistance. Its proxy groups there are Shia militia there who operate at the behest of the Iranian government. This is about Iran extending its reach and demonstrating to the world and to the regional powers that Iran still has cloud and influence within those countries with those militia groups there and allowing them to demonstrate that fealty by taking the, you know, the procession into neighboring countries.

MICHAELSON: And speaking of influence in other countries, we do see several other countries, China, Russia, others from the region who are sending leaders there, but not their top leaders. RADD: Not only not their top leaders, something interesting. As each of the leadership, as each contingent, each delegation came through, there were passages from the Quran that were recited out loud and the ones that were chosen were aligned to send a message. So, when the Saudi delegation, it was paying -- it was alluding to a war that took place, a battle that took place in Arabia during the Prophet's time. And it was around that time and it was almost as a snub to the Saudis.

When the Chinese came, it had a different tone. The Russians as well. So, it was interesting how not only who showed up, but what message was played alongside that delegation that mattered.

MICHAELSON: Why aren't they sending their top people?

RADD: Well, I'm not sure if they want to do. I'm not -- in these diplomatic sensitive moments, they send top people when they want to send the message that the relationship is at that level. They're not at that level. I mean these are countries that essentially indirectly fought each other.

Iran launched missiles at many of these countries. So, they're not at the stage where they're ready to acknowledge that that's the stage that that's where they're at.

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, all this is happening, while there's this back and forth about this memorandum of understanding, still no real, real deal with the United States to end this war. How do you see the status of things?

We're in a 60-day negotiation period. It's difficult to getting done. So, the President will most likely extend that as he's been doing. Meanwhile, Iran has benefited from a, the lifting, temporary lifting of sanctions allowing Iran to sell its oil on the open market in U.S. dollars and bringing in billions per month in the process. And the U.S. has not gotten its end of the deal, which is a complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz and safe passage for all ships. So it's lopsided at the moment and.

MICHAELSON: We expect at least over the next few days with these big crowds out there that there will be sort of a cessation of any sort of violence.

RADD: It would not be in any country's interest right now to raise the temperature while this pageantry is happening. It would play into the hands of the Iranians from the US And Israeli perspective. Yes.

MICHAELSON: Ben, thank you very much. Of course, we will keep an eye on these ceremonies throughout the weekend here on CNN. A lot more to come on that front.

Meanwhile, authorities say the man main suspect in Monday's bomb attack in Monaco is actually a Ukrainian woman who disguised himself as a man. That explosion wounded a Ukrainian businessman in a residential building as well as a woman and child who were with him. This rare act of violence has shaken the small city state. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voiceover): An extraordinary twist in the tale of a bombing of a millionaire in a place of luxury where absolutely none of this is meant to happen. Monaco's prosecutors announced today they were seeking this woman, Anastasiia Berezovska, age 39, Ukrainian, but resident in Germany, as prime suspect in the bombing of this Monaco residential building where this man, Ukrainian millionaire Vadym Yermolayev, and a woman and child were critically injured by a bomb hidden in a shopping bag.

It all comes down to this individual caught on CCTV. Prosecutors said they twice scouted the scene with the shopping bag that carried the bomb both two and three days before the bombing. But on the day before, they didn't. And instead, the exact same route was walked, bag in tow, by this woman.

MORGAN RAYMOND, MONACO DEPUTY PROSECUTOR (voiceover): It was then noted that on June 28, 2026, the only day for which no observations had been made by the individual wearing the baseball cap, a woman followed the same route around the site of the explosion. Her route was the same as that of the individual wearing the baseball and her behavior was similar when she was near the site of the explosion. This led to the conclusion that this woman, who had dark brown hair, was heavyset and had a prominent tattoo on her right arm, might be the same person who had planted the explosive device.

WALSH (voiceover): The rest was easier. In a place where there is a police officer for every 70 residents. There's not much other crime to solve and a third of the residents are millionaires. Her rental car traced back to Germany where she lived and an Interpol Red notice issued.

The why still an issue? Why Yermolayev? Why the half sophistication, a homemade remote-controlled bomb and a suspect who got themselves filmed on scene. Resident in Monaco about five years, Yermolayev had no obvious links to the war in Ukraine. This apparent failed hit, rattling a place sought for the luxury and tranquility that beams off the waters around it. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:15:25]

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Ukraine is not getting any break from deadly Russian attacks. Officials say the city of Zaporizhzhia was hit. Two people were killed, 17 others hurt. Six more people were killed in other parts of Ukraine.

The attacks came on the heels of Thursday's massive strikes on Kyiv which left at least 30 people dead. That was the third deadliest attack on the capital this year.

Well, they are called clippers and they are making bank on social media. The trick is most of them aren't even creating their own content. We'll explain when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:20]

MICHAELSON: Check this out. President Trump has posted a new image of a $100 bill bearing his signature. The U.S. Treasury Department announced back in March that his signature would feature on the bill. CNN has reached out to the treasury to clarify whether these hundred- dollar bills are currently being printed. It will be the first time that a sitting President's signature has ever appeared on paper currency in the U.S.

Artificial intelligence grabs most of the headlines in tech world these days, but the digital economy as a whole is going strong. And there's no better example than the lucrative field of online clipping.

Clippers distribute social media content taken from other people rather than creating their own content, some of them have even become millionaires showcasing other people's hard work. Bijan Hosseini, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN PRODUCER: So I'm scrolling through my TikTok account and I came across this video. It shows Ryan Garcia, a pretty famous boxer with Ashton Hall, who is a pretty famous influencer. But if you look really closely, this video, you'll notice that it wasn't posted by either of them. It was posted by someone else entirely. And that person took this clip, they put on their own headline and they posted it as their own. This is what's known as a clipper. And for every view this video gets, they're getting paid for it.

MUSA MUSTAFA, CLIPPERS: Every single day you're scrolling, you've got thousands of hours of screen time. You're making me rich. In the last 90 days, I made over $54,000.

HOSSEINI: This is Musa, and he claims to be one of the most popular clippers Alive. At just 19 years old, he made his first million dollars. Now at 23, he tells me that the money he's made is a lot higher.

HOSSEINI: Musa.

MUSTAFA What's going on?

HOSSEINI: Hi, man. Bijan. If you had to put a number on how much money you've made from clipping.

MUSTAFA: Oh, man, like we're talking top line revenue, easily over $30 million, like easily.

HOSSEINI: Musa tells me when he first started clipping, he was getting paid directly by the creators themselves. But the industry is really advancing. And so now you get websites. This is a content rewards platform. And it basically shows you all of the live clipping campaigns right now. And you have everything from casinos to artists and musicians to influencers. If you look closely at all of these campaigns, they're being run by companies in the middle.

I sat down with the Founder of Propaganda, which is right here, Eddie Cumberbatch, to kind of find out where the industry is headed.

EDDIE CUMBERBATCH, CO-FOUNDER, PROPAGANDA MEDIA : I run one of the biggest clipping agencies in the world, Propaganda Media, and in the last few weeks we've posted over 43,000 clips. From that, we generated 318 million views.

HOSSEINI: Is this killing traditional marketing firms?

CUMBERBATCH: A hundred percent. But once there's been so many case studies and pieces of data to show that like, this really is the best way to market anything, the bigger companies are now willing to hop on this.

HOSSEINI (voiceover): According to PwC, more than a trillion dollars was spent on global advertising last year. Eddie's banking that a third of that will ship to social media and clipping over the next decade. Big brands, musicians, artists, AI startups, even tourism boards are jumping on the trend and the budgets aren't small either.

CUMBERBATCH: This company is running a $250,000 campaign. This company is running a $249,000 campaign.

HOSSEINI (voiceover): Most campaigns pay out $1 or $1.50 for every 1,000 views and Musa says even on a bad day, the math adds up.

MUSTAFA: The average video on TikTok gets like 2,700 views, roughly, on average. And that's obviously accounting for the 100 million view videos and the 200 view videos, but the average is 2,700. Now if you get a thousand views per video and you post 100 videos in a day, you'll get 100,000 views, which is $3,000 a month, which is $36,000 a year, which is your salary.

HOSSEINI (voiceover): The clipping industry has drawn its fair share of criticism as well, mainly for clippers reposting content without permission and for inflated view counts that can be bought rather than earned. Eddie says his platform and many others run fraud detection to catch clippers who try to fake their numbers. Even Instagram has taken notice. In April, their company had posted this warning.

ADAM MOSSERI, HEAD OF INSTAGRAM: So if most of what you post to Instagram is someone else's content, your account is no longer going to be recommendable.

HOSSEINI: Does any of that worry you? That kind of the success rests in the hands of like these few companies?

CUMBERBATCH: No. There's always going to be like workarounds and like allegedly there was like some change made to Instagram last month. We have not seen anything Instagram makes money off of like ad revenue. The more time people spend watching on their platform, the more money they make. This is simply helping them.

HOSSEINI (voiceover): Clipping has become a side hustle for some and a full time job for others. But for Musa, it's become something else entirely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:08]

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Bijan Hosseini for that very interesting report there.

France is helping America kick off its 250th anniversary. The Eiffel Tower in Paris lit up with U.S. 250. On Friday ahead of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, France has been a close American ally since the Revolutionary War later gifted the U.S. one of its most enduring symbols of freedom, the Statue of Liberty.

As the U.S. celebrates its historic 250th anniversary, CNN will bring you live nonstop coverage of this landmark milestone. And I'll be live all day to help bring you major celebrations across the nation featuring musical performances and fireworks displays from coast to coast. I'll be anchoring live at this time tomorrow from San Diego's Big Bay Boom.

We've got great musicians. It's going to be a lot of fun. I hope you'll be there. We'll be out in Huntington beach in the morning at the parade there as well.

Thanks so much for watching The Story Is for now. I'm Alex Michaelson. I will see you in just a few hours. I got to get up in a few hours. Seasons 2026 Women redefining luxury is next. But we leave you with a live picture from Madison Square Garden where the party is still going underway for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Congrats guys.

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[01:30:39]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA JACKSON, CNN ANCHOR (voiceover): Behind every space --

JACKSON: This is like my dream kitchen.

JACKSON (voiceover): Or every beautifully crafted piece.

JACKSON: The tailoring is absolutely beautiful.

JACKSON (voiceover): Is someone with a vision and a passion that brings it all to life.

JACKSON: We are the only ones in the world doing this, which is cashmere lace.

JACKSON (voiceover): I am Laura Jackson. I'm a creative director, entrepreneur, and storyteller. My passion, food, people, and traveling the world. Over the course of this program, I'm going to explore creativity and luxury through the eyes of women I've always looked up to. SARAH JESSICA PARKER, HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS: I feel hugely lucky to be part of any work that connected with so many people. It's so crazy.

JACKSON (voiceover): To discover how they turn ideas into something that stands the test of time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything that is hanging in this showroom should be worn 20 years from now.

JACKSON (voiceover): And craft into culture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to create a universe from the crystal.

JACKSON (voiceover): I'm Laura Jackson.

JACKSON: It's so beautiful. Okay.

JACKSON (voiceover): And this is Seasons.

JACKSON: Should we have lunch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's Perfect.

JACKSON (voiceover): New York City, a place that has inspired some of the most memorable characters in pop culture none more so than Carrie Bradshaw, the iconic Sex and the City protagonist who famously chose Vogue over dinner because it fed her more.

PARKER: I spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live.

JACKSON: There are few people that have influenced and shaped the way that I think about New York City and personal style. Sarah Jessica Parker is an absolute icon, not just to me, but to women and globally. So, I'm so excited that I get to sit down and chat with her today. It feels so surreal in the best possible way.

PARKER: Are we going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are rolling.

PARKER: Okay. Good.

JACKSPON: We're good. Okay.

PARKER: Good.

JACKSON: Yes. I think we should go with that. I think we were just walking in.

PARKER: Okay, perfect. I can't wear yellow, but that dress is really beautiful. Anyway, welcome, by the way.

JACKSON: Thank you so much.

PARKER: You're welcome. JACKSON: It's so nice to be here. I'm so happy to chat to you as well.

Obviously, we have to talk a little bit about Sex and the City. It still resonates with so many people. I think the conversations that you had around desire, and culture, and fashion, and ambition were ahead of the curve.

PARKER: It's the stories, ultimately.

JACKSON: Yes.

PARKER: That keep people engaged and invested. The writing room was extraordinary. I mean, it's very meaningful, and it continues to be. I feel hugely lucky to be part of -- of any work that connected with so many people and a whole new generation now. It's so crazy. It's so crazy.

JACKSON (voiceover): On and off screen, Parker remains one of pop culture's most enduring influences. And after decades as Carrie Bradshaw, she's reflecting on a definition of luxury shaped by experience, of value, and the privilege of growing older.

JACKSON: I have always loved how you've talked about beauty standards and especially for women. I had a big birthday recently.

PARKER: Oh, happy birthday.

JACKSON: Thank you very much. And I just love how you talk to the fact it's a luxury and I think that it's really compelling in a world where not everyone thinks.

PARKER: That the passage of time is sincerely nothing you can do anything about. I have my creams. I have my -- my lotions, not complicated. One or two or three steps at most, that's all I could take. Other than that, what are you going to do?

JACKSON: Yes.

PARKER: You know, there's just so many other ways I want to spend my time and money.

JACKSON: Yes.

PARKER: So.

JACKSON (voiceover): Rather than turning back the clock, Parker is looking forward and bringing her creative spark to Astrea London. The luxury jewelry house built on lab grown diamonds.

PARKER: For me, it was extremely impressive. I really understood the virtues of lab-grown diamonds versus mined diamonds. You know, it meets a lot of ethical and sustainability questions that I think a lot of us are thinking about, but also the ways in which potentially we can invent the way stones look and feel in terms of color and cut. The innovation around it is pretty thrilling.

[01:35:28] NATHALIE MORRISON, FOUNDER, ASTREA LONDON LIMITED: You know, it's like a heart.

JACKSON (voiceover): The venture grew out of Parker's friendship with company founder Natalie Morrison, who wanted to create jewelry with a smaller environmental footprint.

MORRISON: We don't need water. We use much less electricity. There is no human damaged, as I call it, or no deforestation, no explosive use. So, I think we can now wear modern luxury without hurting the planet.

JACKSON (voiceover): Lab grown diamonds are chemically, physically, and optically identical to mined stones. But they are created in a laboratory using the same carbon structure found in nature.

JACKSON: Creatively, what did you want to bring to the brand?

PARKER: I think a lot of the jewelry that I have worn thus far is -- are vintage pieces. They are pieces that I found in thrift shops or vintage shops or consignment shops. So what could I do that was to try to recreate some of these pieces that I've had forever that don't exist in the world really anymore.

JACKSON: How do you think that luxury has evolved over the last few years?

PARKER: When I think of luxury, I tend not to think of possession so much. I have very few luxury pieces. I'm not a shopper so I tend to just wear vintage pieces and hold onto those luxury items that I'm fortunate enough to have. If I buy one thing, it's with the idea that it will last me for the next 20, 30, 40, 50 years of my life.

JACKSON (voiceover): But things only last a lifetime if they're made that way. That's the idea at the heart of Gabriela Hearst's fashion house.

JACKSON: Look at these trousers.

JACKSON (voiceover): The tailoring is absolutely beautiful. The Uruguay born designer has built her brand on craftsmanship and a more thoughtful approach to luxury.

JACKSON: I read something that you said. I only want my customer to buy one jumper sweater. They don't need to buy more than that.

GABRIELA HEARST, FASHION DESIGNER: Yes, I said it over 10 years ago and I strongly believe in this. The goal when I'm always designing is that anything that is hanging in this showroom should be worn 10 years from now, 20 years from now. It should never feel that it's out of place.

JACKSON: Tailoring is just.

HEARST: Yes.

JACKSON: -- impeccable, yes. HEARST: You only can have impeccable tailoring.

JACKSON (voiceover): Long before sustainability became a buzzword in fashion, it was a way of life for Gabriella. The designer grew up on a remote ranch in Uruguay where resourcefulness and quality weren't ideals. They were necessities.

HEARST: I was shaped by riding horses, all those noises and sounds, the wind, the birds, colors. I mean, I learned you need to be surrounded by things of quality because they need to last. There's nothing more circular than a farm or a ranch. You can't literally throw anything away.

JACKSON: People didn't always associate sustainability with luxury. They kind of thought it was one or the other. I just think that has totally change, which is great. I mean, do you agree that we were looking at sustainability and luxury together rather than separate?

HEARST: I think that they should have never been separate in the first place, because luxury should be about scarcity, well thought through, considered, and that's what sustainability is. This is very special because this is the -- we are the only ones in the world doing this, which is cashmere lace. No one else does this.

JACKSON (voiceover): Those early lessons don't just inform Gabriela's worldview. They are woven into the clothes she creates.

HEARST: And this is merino wool, like we were talking about super fine merino.

JACKSON: Wow.

HEARST: So this is beautiful.

JACKSON: Her latest collection features textiles made out of 97 percent dead stock materials from previous seasons. The result? Fabrics that feel as good as they look. Oh, my gosh. It's kind of got this weight to it, which is so lovely. Oh, looks great.

HEARST: Thank you.

JACKSON: It just, like, the weight to it is just incredible.

HEARST: Yes. When I did our first show with dead stock material, it was like, you can't use the word dead stock. That's kind of a bad word in luxury. And for me, it's like cooking with what we have. I told my team we're not going to buy any new fabrics this season. We're going to use what we have and our fabrics are some of the best in the world. So if we are creative, we should be able to cook with the leftovers.

JACKSON: How do you see luxury evolving? Because I think so much is changing in the world. So where do you think it's going to go?

[01:40:04]

HEARST: I think authenticity is more relevant now than ever. Craftsmanship is more relevant and it's time, design, care.

JACKSON (voiceover): And that commitment to craft now extends beyond the Runway and onto the pitch. Hearst was chosen to design Uruguay's official World cup tailoring.

JACKSON: What an honor.

HEARST: Thank you.

JACKSON: Are you nervous?

HEARST: In particular, I know. I am nervous because it's like doing something big for your country. And it's nice because usually it's the bigger countries that they'll have a big brand that's designing for them.

JACKSON: It is pretty cool. Everything that you're doing here with the brand is so luxurious, you know, and every detail is so thought through. What do you think gives an item emotional longevity, like, why do people keep things?

HEARST: It's the journey of that piece, how it was made, who gave it to you. At the end of the day, I want clothes to feel like they're hugging you and like they're caring for you, that you're not like, alone. You know, like there's something there.

JACKSON: It's like a really, it's like a hug. Oh, it's expensive hug.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACKSON (voiceover): Stockholm truly comes to life in the summer as the city fills with light. It's the perfect place, it turns out, for a woman whose entire creative vision began with a single ray of sunshine.

GIOVANNA ENGELBERT, GLOBAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SWAROVSKI GROUP: One day, like, truly, the light comes in, hit one of these crystals. It was on my desk, and then the rainbow come out, and then I'm like, there you go. It's joy.

JACKSON (voiceover): This crystal encrusted universe is the creative home of Giovanna Engelbert. For the past six years, she's been bringing a new vision to heritage brand Swarovski.

ENGELBERT: I wanted to create a world in the universe from the crystal.

JACKSON: It's like a kaleidoscope, yes.

ENGELBERT: Kaleidoscope which have very multiple facets.

JACKSON: That's why I look massive when I do that. ENGELBERT: Many eyes.

JACKSON: Many eyes.

ENGELBERT: Many eyes which is very important. The color is part of the inner power of a clear crystal.

JACKSON: I mean, I just don't know anyone that's more perfect for this job because you're so passionate about jewelry.

ENGELBERT: I was born with this.

JACKSON: You were born with a necklace?

ENGELBERT: I was born with a necklace. I just love jewelry and I love, of course, fashion and I love craftsmanship. So, it just felt the perfect match because of the breadth of the brand.

JACKSON: What Giovanna unlocked was a fantasy world which shines through everything she touches. Jewelry, home decor, and the retail spaces she's designed as immersive treasure boxes.

ALEXIS NASARD, CEO, SWAROVSKI GROUP: She brings a maximalist view which very much fits what Swarovski always stood for and is totally in tune with the brand essence of joyful extravagance. People don't buy luxury because it's necessary. People buy luxury because it gives them joy.

[01:45:19]

JACKSON: This is, I feel like, the inner workings of your brain. It's so creative and fun.

ENGELBERT: I took joy very seriously.

JACKSON: Yes, yes.

ENGELBERT: and I took color very seriously. What was very, very interesting for was to think about the freedom to experience beauty and joy and transformation and self-expression in a way that was accessible.

JACKSON (voiceover): That philosophy has found a new generation of fans, from Sabrina Carpenter to Beyonce, and Dua Lipa, who opened her London concert in a bespoke Swarovski bodysuit.

ENGELBERT: We started here, we put it together in this office in a mannequin, and I was like, oh, my God --

JACKSON: Did you know she was going to walk out in the dress?

ENGELBERT: I didn't know it was the opening, no. You never know. You never know.

JACKSON: How do you choose the women then that you want to work with? What do they have to embody? ENGELBERT: They are women that are accomplished women. They're women that have a sense of joy and women that achieve something great in their life, in perfection in a craft.

JACKSON (voiceover): Craft has always been central to Swarovski, and it started with this, a handwritten page by company founder Daniel Swarovski mapping out the perfect crystal cut, then ground by machine. The great couture houses followed Dior, YSL, Lanvin embedding Swarovski crystal into the clothes coming off the most celebrated runways in the world, on to Hollywood, and that famous naked dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962 with 2,500 crystals sewn directly into the silk. Sixty years later, it was back in the spotlight with Kim Kardashian.

ENGELBERT: Couture and craftsmanship and crystal, they have a very tight connection that it feels literally so natural. So let's say where collabs before collabs were really a thing.

JACKSON (voiceover): And nowhere is that connection more visible than at the Met Gala. The annual charity benefit has held at the National Museum of Art, now a fixture in Sir Oscar's calendar. This year, Giovanna addressed two of the most talked about women on that red carpet, Korean pop star EJ and the event co-chair, tennis star Venus Williams.

VENUS WILLIAMS, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: I worked with Swarovski to create something just amazing on the carpet, and I wanted to go for timeless, but also statement and also art. So all of those things, I think we achieved it.

JACKSON (voiceover): The gown featured a necklace inspired by the Wimbledon plate capturing Venus's life and sporting achievements in silver and crystal.

ENGELBERT: It's full of meaning and I wanted to pay the most precise and respectful homage to her. It was like to really make her feel like sculptural, regal, and important.

JACKSON (voiceover): After seeing the magic Giovanna works on everyone else, I think it's time I got the full treatment too.

JACKSON: I feel like I need some accessories because I, next to my three pals, look very.

ENGELBERT: She's like the party queen.

JACKSON: Yes.

ENGELBERT: She's the fun, colorful girl. Which one do you think?

JACKSON: This one.

ENGELBERT: Okay, great. But I think this one feels right for you.

JACKSON: It's like a tiara or something for my inner princess. It's so beautiful. ENGELBERT: It looks good.

JACKSON: Oh, here we go.

ENGELBERT: Perfect.

JACKSON: I just need somewhere to go now. Should we have lunch?

ENGELBERT: Yes, let's go have lunch upstairs. It's perfect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:51:50]

JACKSON: Wow. Oh my God. I love this. It's a space full of surprises. This is like my dream kitchen. I feel like I don't know how I'm ever going to go home.

JACKSON (voiceover): A place where every design decision is meticulously thought out.

JACKSON: I'm obsessed with your office. It's basically like my dream home.

JACKSON (voiceover): Welcome to the world of Beata Heyman, the Swedish interior designer known for creating spaces that are playful, obsessed.

BEATA HEUMAN, SWEDISH LONDON-BASED INTERIOR DESIGNER: We got the fridge here.

JACKSON (voiceover): And full of character.

HEUMAN: This is where the ladies. It was like three cubicles is where we're standing now.

JACKSON: No.

HEUMAN: It's very satisfying seeing what it once was.

JACKSON: I just want to see more. We see the whole house.

HEUMAN: Yes. Let's go up there. You want to have an interior that can take being added to over time. So, whilst we plan it in quite a lot of detail when we put it together, also need to have like a big degree of like variation in it.

JACKSON: How is your Swedish background really helped your philosophy in interior design today?

HEUMAN: I think Brits are much better at like living comfortably and dare I say perhaps a little bit more fun, you know, like smoke more, drink more, like spill more stuff on their upholstery and its sort of fine. So, I think practicality and that kind of stuff is more Swedish. It's like more organized, it's cleaner, it's practical. I think the thing that makes me really love this is that I'm trying to sort of make life as enjoyable as it possibly can be.

JACKSON: So cute. This is your office, isn't it?

HEUMAN: This is my office, exactly.

JACKSON: It's so nice.

JACKSON (voiceover): Anyone who knows me knows that I can sit and chat about interior design until the cows come home. But sometimes you need to get up close and personal to truly appreciate the aesthetic.

JACKSON: I want to, like, talk through some of the things. I mean, this is your beautiful life.

HEUMAN: This is our snowdrop, rise and fall. You can sort of take it down and it's really moody.

JACKSON: I've never seen a picture that's been on a curve before.

JACKSON (voiceover): I love Beata's taste for the whimsy, like the women I've met throughout this journey, her creative space offers a window into her world and her own unique definition of luxury.

JACKSON: And this is the drawing room.

HEUMAN: This is the drawing room. Luxury is, like, not a word I love because I think by the time someone describes a flat as a luxury, like apartment, like, you know that it's going to be, like, dreadful. I mean, the only thing I'm really interested in is things that have personality and things that have an individual, like, expression, that's a luxury. Like having something made, like, completely bespoke to your needs, that is meant to express but also, like, elevate your personality.

JACKSON: This is incredible. It's the coziest little nook of all time.

HEUMAN: Well, I mean, yes, this is just the, like, attic space. So, it's a really perfect place to do, like a nut. That sort of bedroom set that felt natural.

JACKSON: I love how you've done the whole room in the wallpaper. You have, like, pitched walls like this.

HEUMAN: It took a bit of working out. This is our new Winterton's wallpaper.

JACKSON: For Beata, wallpaper is often the starting point for a room, helping shape its character and a sense of place.

[01:55:00]

JACKSON (voiceover): Recently, the design has been working with the Sanderson Design group. Founded in 1860, its offices in West London are home to an incredible archive, including designs by William Morris, a man who is regarded by many as one of the most influential people in Victorian Britain.

HEUMAN: Doing collaborations is not something I do very often. It has to be something I can't really do myself. So having the opportunity to work with the Morris archive, it's just, yes, very exciting.

JACKSON (voiceover): Hidden away inside a temperature-controlled room are more than 75,000 pieces of design history, a collection few people get to see.

JACKSON: So how often do you come into the archive and what do you use the archive predominantly for?

CLAIRE VALLIS, DESIGN DIRECTOR: Did you know? We come in all the time. I mean, this is very much design inspiration. Not just the patterns themselves, but also, like the way that it's been printed. The little selvedges, the labels on each of the fabrics.

HEUMAN: These two just like, really sing to me. And maybe, maybe it is the fact that they have a naivety to them and the simplicity.

JACKSON (voiceover): It's from this collection that Beata will draw inspiration for a new wallpaper design.

HEUMAN: I just love them. These just feel -- they feel very fun and very light and I came across this here, and it's the original artwork for a design called Jasmine. I think there's something, like, very fresh and interesting. I quite like sort of contrast and like a slightly cooler color. I'm probably quite likely to explore that.

JACKSON (voiceover): Alongside its archive of patterns, Sanderson has preserved the craft behind them. This is the best job.

HEUMAN: Yes. I mean, it's very cathartic.

JACKSON: Yes. Okay.

HEUMAN: Pass it over to you.

JACKSON: Yes. Okay.

JACKSON (voiceover): Block printing is a process that William Morris championed more than a century ago.

HEUMAN: Pop your weight on that lever, which will then apply pressure through this.

JACKSON: Oh, no, I missed a little bit in the middle.

HEUMAN: Oh, that's right. It just takes a bit of practice. So you do a few test prints to get it up and going.

JACKSON: Yes. Okay.

HEUMAN: And then it will start printing beautifully.

JACKSON (voiceover): With each color printed separately, a single roll can take months to complete.

JACKSON: Oh, that sounds more promising.

HEUMAN: There we go.

JACKSON: Oh, gorge, gorge.

JACKSON (voiceover): The levels of skill, research and attention to detail that are needed to create beautiful interiors are really quite extraordinary, a testament to the craftsmanship and creativity that often go unseen.

JACKSON: For me, modern luxury isn't what we buy, it's how we live. And in an age of AI and algorithms, maybe the most radical luxury is human connection. Behind so much of what inspires and moves me are visionary, passionate women created who have been so lucky to me on this journey, the women in the room who remind us why it matters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)