Pop Culture

The Story Behind Nicole Kidman’s Classic Karl Lagerfeld Chanel Gown at the Met Gala 2023

Though many of the attendees at the 2023 Met Gala were wearing gowns inspired by Karl Lagerfeld’s favorite looks and habitual choices, a handful will be arriving in couture designed by the legend himself. On Monday, Nicole Kidman brought back a dress that will be familiar to any Chanel obsessive of a certain age, designed by Lagerfeld for 2004’s “Chanel No. 5: The Film.”

The short film was directed by Baz Luhrmann, and made a few visual references to his 2001 film Moulin Rouge, which also featured Kidman in a starring role. In the commercial, Kidman ran through the streets of New York City in the pink Haute Couture dress with a long train, festooned with feathers. She escapes the paparazzi in the back of a cab with Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro to the tune of Debussy’s “Claire de lune.” When it originally aired on television—after a premiere in theater—it made headlines for its £18 million price tag. In those pre-YouTube days, the idea of a short promotional film was breaking new ground.

Luhrmann, who attended this year’s Met Gala with his wife, costume designer Catherine Martin, made the ad at the request of Chanel’s then-creative director Jacques Helleu. “I have no real experience [of making an ad] but what I can make you is a . . . trailer for a movie that has never actually been made, that is not about No 5 but in which No 5 is the touchstone,” Luhrmann told the brand, according to the Financial Times.

Other close collaborators of Lagerfeld wore his designs to the event on Monday. Gisele Bunchden also wore a feather-laden gown, but hers was white with angel wings, from 2006. “He was a gentleman—always so kind,” she said to La La Anthony on the Vogue livestream, before reminiscing on her favorite experience working with Lagerfeld. “One time we were shooting a campaign barefoot in Paris… It was really so fun.”

Firework content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Road Work: Post Malone/Coachella, Sabrina, Elvis Costello
Lamar Odom Reveals Wild Sex Secret About Khloe Kardashian
Whatever Is Worthy Of The Story, That’s What We’re Going To Do
2024 Contenders Film Portrait Studio
Ex-WME Corporate Strategy SVP Laura Edwards Joins Insanity, UK Agency