Celebrity campaigns are a dime a dozen, but when Chanel Beauty takes on a new face it generates attention. That’s because the house’s reach and resonance are such that its campaigns often become familiar touchstones of their time. Case in point, chances are if you were around in the early 2000s, you remember the Baz Luhrmann-directed Chanel No 5 ad starring Nicole Kidman, or Keira Knightley running around Paris for Coco Mademoiselle.
Now, the brand has unveiled a fresh era for the house with a new fragrance Coco Mademoiselle: Crush Absolu, and a campaign film to match, starring singer Gracie Abrams and directed by Joe Wright, best known for directing Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Anna Karenina.
Gracie Abrams stars in Chanel’s latest fragrance campaign
The film depicts Abrams running away from the paparazzi in Paris, only to find herself in a café where she quickly galvanises a crowd of everyday Parisians to join her in an uproarious dance routine (and plays a lot of pinball), all with the kind of exuberant glamour you expect, and want, from a perfume campaign.
The film’s euphoric, nighttime atmosphere echoes the aura of the fragrance itself, which opens with a bright grapefruit and lychee accord, before settling into richer notes of rose, jasmine and a particularly potent note of patchouli. As Chanel’s in-house perfumer, Olivier Polge, says, ‘it’s a scent that is full of character. Patchouli is elevated by ambery notes, accentuating the fragrance’s sensual, powerful nature.’
For Abrams, who has already achieved worldwide fame, being a part of the Chanel Beauty family is a landmark moment. ‘It’s unreal to be the new face of Coco Mademoiselle,’ she says. ‘I feel an immense sense of pride. I love that Coco is someone who leaves a mark everywhere she goes. Sometimes, I wish I could be more like her.’
