C takes you behind the velvet rope at the house’s pre-Oscars bash
Words by ANDREW BARKER and MARIE LOOK
Photography by GREG WILLIAMS
For the last 12 years, Chanel has thrown a star-studded dinner the evening before the Academy Awards with a guest list packed with celebrity firepower drawn from film and fashion. Co-hosted by British multihyphenate Charles Finch, this edition saw leading ladies Margot Robbie and Penélope Cruz join Hollywood royalty Robert De Niro, Sofia Coppola and Michael Keaton, and C cover girls Lucy Boynton and Margaret Qualley, for an evening of revelry and speculation before the biggest night of the year in film.
C Magazine was given exclusive access to photographer Greg Williams’ portrait portfolio of the stars.
An evening of revelry and speculation before the biggest night of the year in film
Tracee Ellis Ross, Adrien Brody, Demi Moore and others among the who’s who in entertainment — many of them clad in looks by the label — made their way to the Beverly Hills Hotel’s famed Polo Lounge to raise glasses in celebration of not only Gabrielle Chanel’s personal connection to cinema and her brand’s longtime patronage in the performing arts, but also the talent and creativity of the night’s guests.
The anticipation for the next day’s Oscars ceremony was palpable throughout the festivities, especially with several of this year’s contending films represented by so many attendees, including luminaries Robbie (Bombshell); De Niro and Harvey Keitel (The Irishman); Qualley and Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood); Caitriona Balfe (Ford v. Ferrari); and Hildur Gudnadottir (Joker).
France’s most storied fashion house’s connection to cinema is deep-rooted: Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel’s relationship with film in fact began on the stage, when she designed costumes for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in the 1920s. Then, coinciding with Hollywood’s Golden Age, she headed to L.A. at the invitation of United Artists president Samuel Goldwyn, winning fans such as Katharine Hepburn and Greta Garbo while dressing the studio’s new names. Between her seasonal collections, she would spend the next 30 years working with her compatriot Nouvelle Vague directors in one of France’s most important periods for cinema. Nearly a century later, we have the icon herself to thank for this tradition, a highlight of every Oscar weekend.
Feature image: SOFIA COPPOLA. MARGOT ROBBIE. PENÉLOPE CRUZ.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of C Magazine.
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