The stylish life and fascinating work of Cornelia -Gast

“I always do what I think is interesting,” Cornelia -Gast said to me. We were at Zoom and talked about her work; I asked about process, how she knew that a new project was suitable for her.

“I am sure that many people don’t think what is interesting is the same thing, what I find interesting,” she told me. “But for me, that’s how I work. And once I look at it, I might find a different passage or something, but I just put it together a bit. It’s like a spaghetti sauce. And sometimes you take something out, sometimes you add a little more. All together.

It is hard to do, for someone of us, to find a balance between all the draws that are on our attention. None of us always gets it perfect, and there is grace to remember that. But spoke with an accomplished equestrian and animal rights activist, an incredibly talented lady who has surpassed in a wide strip of career. So I was not surprised at all when her answer was framed around usable points with a goal in mind.

“I think it’s always on you,” Guest explained. “I think that if you get into a project and are open, just come to you, naturally or through your imagination, and the better you are on the other side. I always think the most important thing is about what you are, however, people choose to give back. And for me I have not chosen so much to do.

“I think,” the author, actress and designer continued, “whatever you are going to do in your life when you go back, you have to do it with something that you really love. Because it doesn’t work. Sometimes what you see is heartbreaking, sometimes you are instructed, you can do something you think. To do something that really moves your heart.”

I have an idea that, if not comparable, runs at least parallel; I believe that it can be done to do work in which someone believes, everyone helps to be better versions of ourselves. It is easier to be generous, patient or compassionate when that part of us, whatever the right label, is filled by work we care about.

“I think it makes us happy,” Guest told me. “And I think it gives you a confidence, and you learn, when you meet other people, you see things, and it also teaches you to make decisions quickly, sometimes very quickly.

The lady I interviewed comes from an old family, you will recognize names. I am not going to get into those stories, but it feels like context that you, my dear reader, will appreciate. The mother of Cornelia Guest was Czwinston Guest, was a polo champion, her father, Winston Guest, a global polo champion, was the first cousin with Churchill. She comes from a prestigious family and is a lady in every way, but this is a woman who has devoted her life to animals, art and excellent craftsmanship.

“My mother was a stickler,” said Guest. “When I drove, I was able to wear chaps, but in general I had to wear a little Jodhpurs when I was small. I mean, it was very different because when I was small, we have a kind of a way to dress and I still do it a bit today. If I pop up to play tennis, I always have the kind of funny.” It’s a bit funny. “

There was a formality for the world she told me about, and for me that a certain level of implicit respect between strangers, the kind of implicit good faith on which our social contract could ever trust. I asked a guest what stayed with her from her forming years, which still resonated and felt important.

“I had this conversation with a friend of mine this morning,” she told me. “And I think what we miss is the elegance of it. We miss the simplicity and elegance because most of what I grew up was so simple and elegant. But when Yves Saint Laurent of Oscar did a tribal motif, it was beautiful. Dolce & Gabbana do it.

There is a quality transmission that resonates through the projects of the guests, regardless of the medium. I asked her if there was something from her childhood that continued to feel important today.

“I am always made to write thank you,” Guest told me, “and it’s something that I really try to keep track of. A friend of mine, Roman ToddDoes the same thing. He and I will say: ‘What are you doing today? Well, I have to write 20 notes. ‘Nothing goes beyond the feeling when I get an envelope in the post with someone’s address on it, a return address and someone writes. Having a handwritten note is just magical for me. I am on my nieces, cousins ​​and my cousins ​​to write thank you notes because people love it. I think it’s a great gift. My mother was difficult in that. I think that’s great, that’s in the book. “

The book to which she refers is an older title of guests, The Debutant’s Guide to LifeI ordered and told her about ordering. I collect etiquette guides, I think they are fascinating, and although there are many social ‘rules’ that can use overhaul, I often wish that life had an option for more formality in 2025. Because I think we might miss something important.

“I agree,” said Guest. “And talk to each other. But when you are outside and when you are in the world, a car or something and also, if you walk and you look at people, I always say good morning to people, all dog people are in the park in the morning. I always say good morning.”

A few years ago, guest portrayed the character, Phyllis Hastings, in David Lynch’s, Twin Peaks: The ReturnAnd as a hardcore film fan I wanted to ask her about that. But first I asked her to spoil myself and give me her opinion about a question that I have chased the answer to for a while; When will clothing costume?

I do not believe that there is a correct answer, but thresholds fascinate me, and someone as a guest, who is both a designer and actress, has a perspective that I just had to ask about.

“A costume for me,” explained the guest, “it’s something I wear on a movie set. It is a costume if I am not myself. If I am not myself, if I play someone else, if I go to a costume party, I am in the role of someone else. I think not You. If you play a character, the moment you walk out of your body in someone else’s body, I think, when the suit starts. “

And Twin Peaks?

“I thought it was great to work with David Lynch,” Guest said. “That was amazing, working with a legend. I think working with an incredible person like he was a gift, he just was there and he was so child. And just to watch the way he worked with people and handled things and just communicated. Unpleasant You, he loved communicating, he loved to talk. But it was also another time because it was before Covid. So everyone was on a set. People were not so tired. Younger people need their phones. My generation, not so much. You know, I want a book; I don’t like to read on an iPad. “

Cornelia -Gast is real and curious and she listens carefully and attentively. I could easily see how all these facets made her an obvious choice for a beloved IP – Twin Peaks. I was curious about that side of her process.

“Remembering lines,” she explained, “the more I learn over What I say, the lines just come easier. I know that many people can just look at a piece of paper and remember everything, go from there. I need something there. It just helps me to remember, and then you can go out, change what you want. “

Gast has worked on another book, she told me in early days, but this time a memoir almost.

“It will be out in about a year,” the author told me. That is exciting. It is a bit of a memoir, but it is more of a romp through the past. It is not a traditional memoirs, we will see where it is going, I just really start now. “

“But,” she continued, and made sure that she answered my question about the process, “I think I should put as much as I think it is interesting, and then get something out of it. It is as Coco Chanel said before you go out the door, pull the door out, take a thing out of memoirs. I have everything through it.

Before we left, I asked a guest what inspired her, making her feel better if the world seems terrible.

“I think you should be optimistic and hopeful,” she replied. “That is a choice that you make. I think it should come from the inside, or it does it for me. And I choose every day. You know, everything is a choice. And sometimes it is so difficult. Sometimes it is easier, and that is life. I think, to keep hope and optimism, you have to decide:” I will be hopeful and I become optimistic. ” And if you are in the vicinity of people who feel the same thing, it just spreads. “

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