Karl Lagerfeld to direct Keira Knightly in new Chanel film

Twenty-seven-year-old Keira Knightley is already the face of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle fragrance, starring in a series of campaigns and films for the brand, including the Joe Wright-directed short deemed « unsuitable for young children » just last month by the UK Advertising Standards Authority.  

The actress will now be starring as Coco Chanel in a new film directed by Lagerfeld himself, exploring the brand’s first store in the seaside resort of Deauville, which was financed by Chanel’s lover Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. Thirty-three-year-old French actress Clotilde Hesme will play Chanel’s aunt and confidante Adrienne.

British models Tallulah Harlech and Stella Tennant, French musician and model Caroline De Maigret, and Missouri-born male model Brad Kroenig and his four-year-old son Hudson (who also happens to be Lagerfeld’s godson) will also star in the film. Hudson Kroenig is already something of a Chanel star, having walked in a number of shows for the brand and appearing in the recent ‘Little Black Jacket’ exhibition.

Set to begin shooting on location in Deauville this week, where the town’s early 20th century charms will be painstakingly recreated, the film will be screened in early May when the brand travels to Singapore for the Cruise show. 

jt/cm