“Fog Assembly” by Olafur Eliasson at the Palace of Versailles (photo by Anders Sune Berg c/o the artist) paired with Erdem’s Simone Forget Me Not skirt.

Another moment of aesthetic solace from Versailles, this time in the form of a misty halo. “Fog Assembly” fills the Star Grove with a nebulous yet grounded cloud, an elemental installation designed to “amplify the feelings of impermanence and transformation.” Shrouded so, the formal landscape becomes subsumed by experience. All part of Olafur Eliasson’s plan: Stop your dazzled consumption, take control, the moment is yours alone to author.

Historically, the royal court at Versailles was a place of constant observation – of oneself and of others; the strict social norms of the time were enforced through a web of gazes. The Baroque architecture of the palace served to heighten visibility, becoming a stunning instrument of power held exclusively by the king. Today, however, we look at Versailles differently, and when I visit the site, I ask myself: how do you, the visitor, view this iconic site? What does it do to you? Have we all become king? The Versailles that I have been dreaming up is a place that empowers everyone. It invites visitors to take control of the authorship of their experience instead of simply consuming and being dazzled by the grandeur. It asks them to exercise their senses, to embrace the unexpected, to drift through the gardens, and to feel the landscape take shape through their movement.