“Sorry, do you have any rooms available?”. A simple question, one whispered between lovers and strangers alike, laden with anticipation. It’s the prelude to a story once spun with unmatched brilliance, a film that sweeps you off your feet and into the depths of romantic longing. Into what it means to fall into such love, and the emotions that come with it. Desire, freedom and life’s pulsating fervour, once nestled within the frames of Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman (1966), now revived within Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2024 campaign. 
Chanel ambassador Penélope Cruz and cult actor Brad Pitt light the campaign, all through the lens and direction of Inez & Vinoodh. The French Maison’s Creative Director, Virginie Viard, harbours a longstanding passion for cinema, with a particular affinity for the New Wave movement. Her desire to pay tribute to Claude Lelouch’s masterwork has now come to fruition.
This decision carries profound significance. The film, a masterpiece of French filmmaking, is part of Chanel’s longstanding relationship with cinema. The Chanel bag found in each corner of the campaign was once carried by actress Anouk Aimée during the film. It was her own personal bag, which she wore both on screen and off screen, a possession that reflects courage, audacity, and the assertion of one’s deepest desires. 
Its silhouette instantly identifiable, modern and rectangular, an emblem that evolves with the mood. Its versatility accompanies its owner through every moment, from day to night, its endurance making it a heirloom, handed down through generations. With each new collection, it evolves in an array of colours, shapes and materials, perpetually reinventing itself while remaining timeless.
“Imbued with meaning, contrast and mystery, it exudes a sense of freedom. It is a coat of arms slung over the shoulder, a liberated silhouette that reveals something about the wearer. It bears within it the very history of the House of Chanel, its present, past and future, woven together like the links of its interlacing chains and leather ribbons. It is a room unto itself, a hideaway, a place for reinventing oneself,”  the team of the Maison comments.
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