LADY OF MYSTERY
by M. Rebichon
Actress Keira Knightley incarnates a mysterious character in a fragrance commercial.
Tradition holds that things always happen in threes. Keira Knightley and Joe Wright first collaborated in Pride & Prejudice, the adaptation of the Jane Austen classic.
It aced an Oscar nomination for Britain’s new rose and, for the young British director, two nods for directorial awards.
Actress Keira Knightley on the set of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, directed by Joe Wright.
The artistic partnership continued in Atonement (scheduled for year-end release), and – a surprising third – an advertising film for a Chanel fragrance, Coco Mademoiselle.
Making his commercial debut, Wright directs Knightley as a mysterious Chanel-like character in the 60-second film set to a Nat King Cole song, updated by Joss Stone.
What was your primary aim, where Keira was concerned?
I know her face perfectly! I know how to capture the essence of her beauty and personality. We can tell each other things without beating around the bush. We are very natural with each other. This is really rare for a director and actor.
Did you learn anything new about Keira on this advertising film?
I am amazed by her ability to deal with all the pressure that she faces. She’s only 21 years old! Keira pouts when she’s tense. I kept telling her: “Stop pouting! Stop pouting!” At the end of the shoot, she told me: “Now I can pout as much as I like!”
Did you work on Keira’s look for the film?
Of course! I’m rather an autocrat when it comes to the aesthetic approach to a project. For example, I was looking through a hat store and got the idea of the bowler hat that Keira wears at the beginning. Not only does she wear it well but it matches her eyes! I also made adjustments to the colour of her hair, her hairstyle, her clothing…
Did you work with her to create the Coco character?
Yes, we invented a story but this is our secret. The character who evokes Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel, we don’t know anything about her. There are signs and hints but all of this is only suggested. I like things that remain unexplained, filled with poetry.
What image did you have of Chanel before the shoot?
I saw her as a real icon. I obviously knew about the amazing impact she made in the fashion world in the 1920s and 30s, her focus on black and white. However, I didn’t know that she encouraged women to wear trousers.
What fascinated you most about Chanel’s personality?
Her duality. Coco was a woman with many secrets and façades. A woman who revealed a completely different personality, depending on who she was talking to and what situation she was in. We capture this quality in the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance.
You can’t really put your finger on the real identity, the real intimacy of the character. I kept this approach in mind for the film.
Did you do any research?
I visited the places where she lived and worked. I was immediately struck by the fact that, during the most important years of her career, she lived in a very limited space, between the rue Cambon, where she worked, and the Ritz hotel, where she lived.
I can almost say the same for myself in London.
What memories will you keep of the Coco Mademoiselle film shoot?
This film came at the right time. After Pride & Prejudice, which is a film about love, Keira and I were walking on clouds.
Then we finished Atonement, a very dark film about lies. It was very difficult to bear. The Coco Mademoiselle film brought a breath of fresh air and lightness.
As for my favourite sequence, it’s the one where Keira is reflected in the mirror.
What is your relationship to fragrance?
It must be in complete harmony with the person who wears it. My girlfriend has her very own scent and I think I fell in love with it!