You may have never heard of Maïwenn, and frankly neither had we, but that doesn’t matter to Karl Lagerfeld who hand-picked her as the new face for Chanel’s eyewear campaign. The mononymous new muse of the fashion house is a 36-year-old French actress, director and screenwriter recognised for her film work in France but is little-known elsewhere. She has previously been nearly inexistent in the fashion world save for her FROW appearances at the last few Chanel runway shows.
Although not visible, her relationship with Chanel has been long running. Her career has enjoyed both ups and downs, and Chanel has always backed Maïwenn. When other designers wouldn’t, Chanel still continued to lend her clothes even when her career was in a dip. This act of kindness and support is something Maïwenn is extremely grateful for, so much so that she welled up in the short interview that was released to accompanies the Lagerfeld-shot campaign.
Maïwenn is quick to admonish anyone who thinks fashion and intellect can’t go together saying, “You can watch Chanel fashion shows and watch the news. Fortunately you don’t have to choose. I always vote, I go to rallies, but I also go to fashion shows.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves and look forward to seeing more from Chanel’s newest face.