For Chanel’s latest show, Karl Lagerfeld goes cinematic
The German fashion designer takes on Italian cinematic sensuality in Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show in Rome
A chic international crowd walks along a dark cobblestone street that opens onto an ancient Roman temple front. White columns gleam, huge statues and swathes of Chanel tweed flicker in the torch light.
We are in the Italian capital, but these are not Roman ruins. Instead, we’re on the set of the TV series Rome, at the famed Cinecitta studios on the outskirts of the Eternal City.
This is where revered Italian director Federico Fellini crafted many of his greatest films, including his 1963 masterpiece 8½. It is a certified icon of Italian cinema. Chanel has taken over the space for one night to stage its annual Métiers d’Art show (this time called “Paris in Rome”) and to debut a new tongue-in-cheek film by Karl Lagerfeld, titled Once and Forever, starring Kristen Stewart and Geraldine Chaplin.
“I don’t analyse my way of thinking,” Lagerfeld tells a phalanx of journalists after the show in response to a question about whether he’s taking a more cinematic approach to his work. “But it’s a good motivation.”
Stewart, who stars as a grumpy starlet (perhaps a cheeky reference to her real-life persona), says she feels “blessed to be part of something that isn’t just contrived and money-driven”.