Surfing giant waves, pacing a Hamptons mansion, packing her daughter off to school, working a photo shoot, having a rendezvous in the city with an insistent lover—such is the packed scenario Gisele Bündchen plays out in Baz Luhrmann’s glossy new film for Chanel No. 5.
“It felt close to my life, so it was easy to access that emotion,” the supermodel explained at last night’s launch of the ad, where she walked the press line with one impressively toned arm slung around her director’s shoulder. (Karl Lagerfeld was the evening’s other headliner.) After 20 years in the business, Bündchen noted, scoring a star turn for the world’s most famous fragrance was the “cherry on the cake.”
It was the second such cherry for Luhrmann, who took on the same role 11 years ago for a $42 million, 180-second Chanel film starring Nicole Kidman. For that reveal, he’d turned a Chelsea event space into a cabaret-style venue (velvet curtains, brass railings, ruched wall fabrics) reminiscent of the Moulin Rouge. Karlie Kloss, for one, didn’t rule out the possibility of a burlesque act. “Between Karl and Baz, anything is possible,” she offered.
In the end it was merely the screening, followed by a performance by Lo-Fang, whose sultry cover of “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease helped set the film’s erotic tone. As Bündchen made the rounds—wearing No. 5, naturellement—Patrick Demarchelier settled in next to Lily Donaldson and told Style.com that he’d been photographing the Brazilian superstar since she was 16. Earlier that day, in fact, he’d shot her for the cover of Australian Vogue. Was he surprised she’d had a go at acting? Not at all, he said. “It’s Gisele. She can be anything she wants.”
