Making a "Return" to the Screen
Iconic French atelier Chanel will debut a new film focusing on Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s return to fashion in the 1950s following World War II, directed by the brand’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld.
The film, aptly titled “The Return,” is more Hollywood than other typical fashion films, with a run time of 30-minutes and a big budget production.
The film recounts the tale of how the designer, played by Charlie Chaplin’s daughter Geraldine Chaplin, struggled to impress critics with the unveiling of her 1954 comeback collection – until she found success with the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus, which supported her designs.
The Return also features cameo performances by Rupert Everett, Anna Mouglalis and Lady Amanda Harlech (‘friends’ of the Chanel brand), while the atelier’s real-life seamstresses have been enlisted to play their historic counterparts in the film.
To set the scene, the house of Chanel recreated its founder’s Paris salon in a studio in France, complete with a copy of the original and now famous mirrored spiral staircase.
A video of the film will be available on the Chanel site December 10.