Luxury house Chanel unveiled its Iconic Handbag 2024 campaign film featuring actors Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt directed by fashion photography duo Inez and Vinoodh. In charge of styling was Valentina Collado, with casting direction from Aurelie Duclos. Beauty is work of hair stylist Ward Stegerhoek, makeup artist Lisa Butler, and manicurist Anatole Rainey. The short movie also stars supermodel Rianne Van Rompaey.
The campaign, set against the serene and timeless backdrop of Deauville, draws inspiration from Claude Lelouch’s cinematic treasure, A Man and a Woman, fusing the narratives of burgeoning love and fashion’s evolving allure. Deauville, with its intimate connection to Chanel’s heritage, serves as the ideal place for this narrative to unfold. The setting, synonymous with quiet luxury and timeless elegance, mirrors the campaign’s homage to Lelouch’s film, renowned for its poetic exploration of love and connection. The choice of Cruz and Pitt as the faces of this campaign adds a layer of depth to the homage, with both actors embodying the essence of the characters’ intense and mysterious love story portrayed in Lelouch’s original.
Penélope Cruz’s personal connection to A Man and a Woman adds another layer of authenticity to the campaign. Her admiration for the film shines through as she discusses the unique portrayal of love’s complexity and the inherent danger in the characters’ deepening relationship. This campaign, she notes, is not about recreating a cinematic classic but rather paying tribute to its timeless narrative and aesthetic. Cruz’s insights into the characters’ emotions and the storyline’s intricacies reflect her deep understanding of the film’s impact on audiences and its influence on her own artistic perspective.
Brad Pitt’s casting as the male lead alongside Cruz rekindles their past cinematic collaboration while also bringing Lelouch’s vision into a contemporary context. Cruz regards Pitt as the perfect embodiment of Jean-Louis Trintignant’s character from the original film, highlighting Pitt’s ability to convey depth, charisma, and complexity – qualities essential for the narrative’s believability and emotional resonance.
Claude Lelouch himself expressed that if he were to recreate the film today with Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz, he would urge them, much like he did with Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant, to portray characters not as actor and actress, but as a man and a woman.
