Kristen Stewart with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel Fall 2013 Couture show
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is again stepping behind the lens for a Chanel film that tells the behind-the-scenes story in a fictional biopic being made about the house’s founder.
Set to premiere at Chanel’s Métiers d’Arts show in Rome on Dec. 1, the movie will feature Kristen Stewart as an actress cast to embody a young Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in the biopic alongside Geraldine Chaplin, who has previously played the designer in other brand films. Chanel frequently finds new angles for film to breathe new life into its brand history.
Fictional account
According to WWD, Chanel’s film is entirely conceived by the brand's creative director Mr. Lagerfeld, who wrote the dialogue, developed the plot and made costuming and casting decisions.
Ms. Stewart is a frequent Chanel collaborator, having appeared in multiple ad efforts to-date.
In 2013, Chanel announced it had tapped the actress to star in its advertising campaign for its Métiers d’Art Paris-Dallas collection to further showcase the U.S. inspiration behind the collection (see story). She was also the face of a recent handbag campaign and had a cameo on the brand’s couture runway in July (see story).
It has become something of a tradition within Chanel to unveil a new film that delves into its past as part of its destination Métiers d’Arts show.
Cara Delevingne and Pharrell Williams on set with Karl Lagerfeld
Last year, Chanel teased its “Reincarnation” film starring musician Pharrell Williams and model Cara Delevingne in the days leading up to its official unveiling Dec. 1.
The film coincided with the label’s Metiers d’Art show that took place at the Schloss Leopoldskron, an 18th-century Rococo palace in Salzburg, Austria on Dec. 2. Reincarnation reenacts an episode in Ms. Chanel’s life, a common narrative in the brand’s marketing (see story).