CocoMania!

This summer sees the release of 2 films about the life of Coco Chanel. Surprisingly neither looks specifically at her life as the world’s foremost fashion designer; rather they concentrate on darker, lesser-known periods of her life.

The first starring Audrey Tautou, famous for her starring role in Amelie, is entitled “Coco Avant Chanel” (Coco before Chanel) and explores Chanel’s life as she grew up in an orphanage in rural France and scraped her way to Paris, via odd jobs and wealthy men. The film bears witness to her transformation from effectively little more than a peasant girl to a woman who became known for her style and the embodiment of chic. Audrey Tautou was born to play Chanel. Like Coco, she has similar androgynous body measurements and an astonishing facial likeness with high cheekbones, dark hair and porcelain skin. Her wonderful turn as the headstrong designer, has elicited rave reviews from French cinema goers and critics alike.

The second film in a season of Chanel biopics stars Lagerfield muse Anna Mouglalis as Mademoiselle Chanel and is called “Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky”. Merging fact and fiction, the film follows the love affair between a young Chanel and the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky during the early 1920s. The film closed the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was met with praise for its direction and set design in particular.

Both films are sumptuous tales depicting periods of Coco Chanel’s life, however it is entirely coincidental that they have seen the light of day at the exact same time. As it is, both pictures have begun this summer’s trend of ‘CocoMania’.

Although never far from the limelight, Chanel is currently having a HUGE fashion moment. In addition to both movies, the French design house is currently producing all the outfits for Penelope Cruz in her latest film with the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar “Broken Embraces”. Almodovar has praised Chanel as “One of the best inventions of the Twentieth Century”. The English National Ballet has also announced that all their dancers will be performing at Sadler’s Wells in June wearing Chanel Haute Couture, to celebrate the centenary of Ballets Russes – an early Twentieth Century Russian Ballet Company.

The fashion people are also hot on the Coco trend, at this years Paris Fashion Week, Jefferson Hack, co-founder of ‘Dazed & Confused’ magazine and father to Kate Moss’s daughter, held a party in Chanel’s private apartments in the Rue Cambon, to which, a host of French society, models and celebrities were invited.

Chanel has been a driving force in the fashion industry and has given society some of its most influential and iconic produce to date. No scent in history has had as much success as Chanel No 5, the black quilted chain bag has become a symbol of style and affluence, the little box Chanel jacket has been copied the world over…. And there’s more… Coco made pearls fashionable, stripes and the signature little black dress.

As summer 2009 implodes with CocoMania it is essential that budding fashionista’s are armed with Chanel fodder. Most designer pieces are far too expensive to enjoy, however sunglasses, as well as being a summer necessity, are an affordable must-have item, and they don’t come much better than Chanel. Shade Station will be stocking Chanel sunglasses for the summer, so you can indulge in your Chanel moment and keep abreast of the hottest trend this year.