At her Chanel show on Tuesday, Virginie Viard paid tribute to the French classic “Un homme et une femme” (“A Man and a Woman”) with a short film starring Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz.
Cruz, a Chanel brand ambassador since 2018, unleashed a swarm of flashbulbs as she arrived at the show with the original film's director, Claude Lelouch. They posed in front of a screen erected in the middle of the runway, which was designed to resemble the boardwalk in the French coastal town of Deauville, where the 1966 film was set.
The new black and white version, directed by Inez and Vinoodh, showed the Hollywood stars walking on the beach and flirting at the Normandy hotel restaurant, while the film's iconic song “da ba da ba da” plays in the background. . It marked the launch of a new campaign for Chanel's classic 11.12 bag, the brand said.
“I said, 'I want Brad and no one else,'” Viard said in a preview.
Chanel's relationship with the actor dates back to 2012, when it tapped the “Ocean's Eleven” star as the first male ambassador for its No. 5 best-selling perfume. “It feels like it never left, because we don't have many male ambassadors outside of our fragrance campaigns,” she said.
The product placement in the cult film happened organically. Founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was a friend of Aimée, who dropped her own purse on the table during her restaurant scene with Jean-Louis Trintignant.
“Penelope is a big fan of the film,” Viard said of the Spanish actress, who brought her mother to the surprise opening.
Having started her career in costume design, the designer is a cinephile and Chanel is a partner of the Deauville American Film Festival, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, so the timing of the tribute made sense.
Beyond that, Deauville was where Chanel launched her business in 1912, revolutionizing fashion with her elegant, fluid designs that helped free women from their corsets.
For fall, Viard channeled that laid-back charm with slim belted tweed coats in sunset hues and cozy sweaters, ranging from matching pearl-button sets to a sailor-collared cardigan that represents the blue-gray skies and long beaches of the coast of Normandy.
Highlighting the traditional feel of the knits, cream cardigans appeared slightly worn, while navy ribbed blouses featured vintage Chanel tags.
The collection jumped between decades, from mid-necked '20s-style blouses to pastel tweed skirt suits that could have come from Aimée's own closet. Viard likes baffling pants, so there were also Bowie-style culottes with platform boots, along with a gold lamé skirt suit and cool shearling coats.
The collection seemed eclectic, with something for everyone, from long bohemian-print chiffon dresses to a chic black leather jumpsuit.
Despite this, and the floppy hats distracting from some of the looks, it felt like Viard's most cohesive exhibition to date, with an androgynous charm that sure still feels current, more than a century later. that Chanel unleashed the masculine-feminine trend. After five years at the helm, the reclusive designer looks ready for her close-up.
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