What do you get when you combine Karl Lagerfeld, the King of High Fashion; It-Girl and supermodel Cara Delevingne and music royalty, in Pharrell Williams? Reincarnation, a short film directed by Karl Lagerfeld himself, especially for Chanel, and set to accompany this years annual Chanel Metiers d’Arts show in Salzburg.
With an opulent setting, exquisite costumes and Cara, yes – Cara, lending Pharrell a hand on the vocals, you can be assured that Lagerfeld has gone to extreme lengths to ensure this isn’t going to be your average, run-of-the-mill fashion film.
The premise for the short film is to reveal how the Chanel jacket was initially created. Apparently the inspiration came from Coco Chanel whom, when visiting Austria in 1954, spied a bell boy’s jacket and was instantly enthralled by it. Pharrell plays the role of the hotel bell boy in the infamous jacket, with Delevingne a waitress. The twist comes when they are transformed into Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and their serving, mundane lives are suddenly swapped for a more magical, extravagant existence.
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Stepping out of their paintings and into each others arms, Delevingne and Pharrell waltz around a deserted ballroom in Chanel couture (what else?), Delevingne complete with a flower adorned, bouffant hairdo that is at least half the size of Pharrell. The two break into song, giving the film a kind of music video vibe, albeit an extremely cool, well produced and expensive one.
The track, titled ‘CC the World’ was written by Pharrell specifically for Lagerfeld to use in the film, and whilst we all know Pharrell ain’t a half bad singer, it’s Delevingne who really surprises. Her sweet, yet strong tone is perfectly balanced out by Pharrell’s soulful harmonies, and the two singing together about finding beauty in the world is quite a lovely sentiment (it helps that the song is super catchy too).
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The notion that we can find beauty in the most unexpected places, if we only look around, resonates with the story of Coco Chanel using the seemingly innocuous bell boy jacket as the basis for her most iconic and recognisable jacket design. The film ends with the dreamy fantasy world of Delevingne and Pharrell disappearing, and real life reforming; with Pharrell still at his post by the lift when Chanel exits and asks him where he got his jacket from. His response ‘they only made it for me’, is met with ‘well I am going to make it for me’ by Chanel, who looks utterly enchanted by this revelation of style.
Lagerfeld has created a visually stunning, intoxicating world of grandeur and magnificence that we know and understand is beautiful, but which also allows the story of Coco Chanel to remind us that beauty can be found in the most unassuming, or littlest things too. Delevingne and Pharrell are gorgeous together (being super good looking humans doesn’t hurt), and both the music and score are playful, romantic and charming. Trust us, you will watch this video multiple times, marvel at the outfits, find yourself singing along and stare at Delevingne’s brows in envy. It’s the ultimate in beauty, lavishness and over the top luxury – which is everything we’ve come to expect from Chanel.
images via grazia.co.uk
