In Chanel’s new campaign video, Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz recreate a scene from the film A Man and A Woman (1966). Sensuality, romance and mystery, the French fashion house manages to combine all these elements in the video for the Chanel autumn-winter 2024/25 Ready-to-Wear show.
Ode to A Man and A Woman (1966)
With the (short) film, filmmaker Virginie Viard wanted to pay tribute to Claude Lelouch’s ‘masterpiece’: A Man and A Woman. This film explores one of the most important emotions in life: falling in love. The campaign, filmed by fashion photography duo Inez & Vinoodh, repeats a number of Lelouch’s film scenes almost word for word.
A Man and A Woman tells the story of a man and a woman, who have both lost their partners. They meet at their children’s boarding school where a close romance blossoms between the two, including all the desires, hesitations and fears that come with it.
The budget for the original film was so low that actress Anouk Aimée wore her own clothes and accessories at the time, including her Chanel handbag.
Iconic handbag
Penélope Cruz also wears the oh-so-recognizable iconic handbag in the campaign. Placed on the table in the restaurant, the bag symbolizes everything that at some point in our lives gives us the courage to assert our deepest desires. And the question: ‘Do you have any rooms available?’ to give just one example.
Deauville
The recordings for the video took place in Deauville, the seaside resort where Mademoiselle Chanel herself opened a hat boutique in 1912. In 1913 she presented her first Haute Couture creations there, and the rest is history. The town is therefore very important for the brand and served as a source of inspiration for the collection in the Chanel autumn-winter 2024/25 Ready-to-Wear show.
Dutch model
An extra nice element in the Chanel campaign is the waitress who takes Pitt and Cruz’s order. Dutch top model Rianne van Rompaey was given the great honor of taking on this role. “Get ready for my second career as a waitress,” the overjoyed model writes on her Instagram account. In the film we see how she has to interrupt the couple a few times because they are so absorbed in each other.
Source: Chanel | Image: Chanel (Inez & Vinoodh)
