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In the campaign for the Parisian-based luxuriate’s CHANEL 22 bag—the perennial object of our affection—French-American actress and house ambassador, Lily-Rose Depp, evokes a sense of “autobiographical fiction” as she recounts a day spent in isolation during a sojourn in the Los Angeles hillside.
Now, over a year later, the Maison has recast this solitary version of Depp for the campaign film of Première Édition Originale watch; a short movie dedicated to the reissue of Chanel’s first watch.
In 1987, and under the creative helm of former artistic director Jacques Helleu, Chanel introduced Première to the world, or should we say the world to Première.
This timepiece invoked the codes of the house with a lacquered octagonal dial reminiscent of the stopper adorning a bottle of the No.5 fragrance. Three decades later, Chanel’s creation studio has replicated the original design for the contemporary Chanel woman.
The watch is worn like jewellery, serving as a piece of multi-faceted bijoux with a bracelet of gold chains interlaced with black leather to mimic the strap of a signature Chanel accessory.
Creating a timeless watch is a sartorial oxymoron, but one Chanel has achieved for its customers.
Who better than to revive from their archive than Depp’s aforementioned character, this time placing her within one of Chanel’s most hallowed house sigils, Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment in 31 Rue Cambon.
Watch Lily-Rose Depp star in Chanel’s Première Édition Originale Watch campaign film.
Though the famed couturier did not live there herself, rather retreating to the nearby Ritz Hotel for her nocturnal activities, the setting of the campaign film serves as a visual ribbon threading the watch’s history with its future.
It’s fitting that the mythical apartment, which was resorted to its former glory 50 years after the designer’s passing, serves as the location for a creation inspired by her legacy and many ‘isms’.
Backdropped by Chanel’s signature tan suede couch, a piece of furniture the fashion maven designed herself and finished with complimentary quilted pillows no less, her library of hardback books, superstitious sculptures and ornate wooden credenzas, Depp serves as a sartorial guest in residence.
Within the confines of Chanel’s exclusive second-floor apartment, The Idol star becomes the main character of the creative suite, casting a quotidian elegance that rekindles the spirit of Chanel in doing so.
The short film, which is directed by Inez & Vinoodh, contours the spirit of an ingénue undisturbed in their creative process.
Soundtracked to the ethereal sonic atmosphere of the alternative rock band Dum Dum Girls’ “Coming Down”, Chanel presents a vision of freedom through Depp’s use of the watch.
Within her daydream, a realm where the order of business includes playing with cards, reading newspapers and eating tangerines, Depp, and there for the Chanel woman, isn’t confined to the ticking hand on her wristwatch.
In this space, she has a monopoly over time and an inherent liberation.
The silent film juxtaposes Depp’s daily routine—signalled through her bouclé black mini skirt and satin cerulean blouse—with her evening one.
A time when the apartment is washed in a flickering neon glow and the only priority is to dance by yourself in a silver lace skirt suit trimmed with glimmering pink thread.
The message of the campaign is this: time is yours for the taking. Do so, with the company of your very own Première Édition Originale.
Below, Lily-Rose Depp takes us behind the scenes of her new Première Édition Originale Watch campaign film with Chanel
