Or in the event you go into the Le19m constructing and also you see the artisanal approach of working; the time, the eye to element that’s put into each single piece – not solely couture however each single assortment. For me, that is one thing that the world of style can’t lose, however there usually are not so many homes which might be nonetheless capable of do it. 

Is there a parallel between that craft and the craft of filmmaking?

Precisely. It’s very treasured. Like the best way Pedro [Almodovar] would make a movie; there are layers, and it has to have roots, and each single element issues. So that is how they work to specific the unimaginable expertise of Virginie, and earlier than Karl, and earlier than them Gabrielle: it takes the laborious work, dedication and expertise of many different individuals as nicely. The best way I really feel to be a part of this household is identical I believe as they really feel: it creates such a robust and actual feeling of wanting to provide again.

And on this case you can deliver your craft, your metier, to Chanel. 

It’s a quick movie however it’s telling a narrative.  And naturally, that is the place I at all times really feel most snug. And particularly paying homage to a personality that’s so iconic. I believe the movie works as a result of it displays a historical past that’s actual. And the gathering labored so nicely in opposition to it right this moment for a similar cause. You recognize these hats: hats had been the very first thing that Gabrielle made and offered, and her first retailer was in Deauville. After which blouses too. It was round 1912 and it was very courageous for the time as a result of it was as a lot about consolation because it was about class. And he or she would gown her sisters and their pals within the blouses and hats and ship them out to stroll on the identical promenade, the identical boardwalk, that we see within the movie. In order that was the mouth to mouth social media of the time.

Wow, Penélope: I’ve by no means interviewed somebody who’s working in partnership with a style model who has such a deep information of its historical past.

Ha! And all my pals at Chanel, they at all times chuckle about that. And so they say ‘oh, if we have now a doubt concerning the provenance of  the place one piece is from we’re gonna name you!’. You recognize I acted as editor for Vogue Spain in 2019 and we shot two covers as a tribute to Karl with Peter Lindbergh. And we had vehicles pushed from Paris to Spain crammed with archive items. And through the shoot we had been speaking all day about Karl, however we had no thought how sick he was. And that evening he died. We cherished him very a lot. I’ve so many wonderful tales that I shared with him. And I truthfully couldn’t think about anyone higher on the earth than Virginie to observe in his footsteps. She’s doing nice. She’s doing an unimaginable job being herself, and on the similar time being one hundred pc the essence of Chanel.