Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt reincarnate the film ‘A Man and A Woman’ for Chanel and its iconic bag

Chanel has enlisted Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt to recreate iconic scenes from Claude Lelouch’s film ‘A Man and A Woman’. Unveiled on March 5 during the luxury house’s fashion show, which took place against the backdrop of Deauville’s boardwalk, inspired by the film honored by the brand, this short film, now launched on a large scale, highlights the emblematic bag of the French luxury brand, whose price has soared over the years.

In this remake shot in black and white by Dutch photographers Inez & Vinoodh, Hollywood’s sexiest stars recreate almost word for word, shot by shot, the film’s most famous sequences, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 and starred Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Similar to the reunion scene on the beach or the restaurant scene at the Hotel Normandy, where this time it is the woman, Penelope Cruz, the brand’s ambassador since 2018, who asks if there is a room available, rather than the man, portrayed by Jean-Louis Trintignant in the original version. All accompanied by the iconic “chabadabada” of the famous song signed by Francis Lai.

During filming, Anouk Aimée wore her own clothes and accessories, including the very recognizable Chanel quilted leather bag with its chain strap, which she wore on her shoulder or spontaneously placed on the restaurant table. A godsend for the brand, which can thus reproduce the film’s images identically, reaffirming its ownership of this object that has become a true fashion and luxury icon. Namely, the 2.55 model, created by Coco Chanel in 1955.

Since then, it has been reinterpreted many times. Especially in 1983 by Karl Lagerfeld, who replaced the turnstile clasp with two intertwined Cs and renamed it 11.12. Also known as ‘Classic’ or ‘Timeless’, this model is regularly offered in new versions and is a Chanel best-seller. Today, the classic lambskin model is sold for 10,300 euros on the brand’s website, up more than 6% from the beginning of the year when it was still available for 9,700 euros.

Typically, Chanel revises the prices of its handbags twice a year, in March and September.

“Chanel sets the price of its bags based on their cost price. The price of raw materials and production costs have been marked by constant inflation over the past year, leading us to adjust our prices in-store,” a spokesperson for the house told Bloomberg on March 27, specifying that this increase was effective across all markets with an average adjustment rate of 6% in euros.

The price of this Chanel classic has skyrocketed in recent years, rising from 1,650 euros in 2005 to nearly 5,000 euros a decade later and over 10,000 euros today, without slowing down sales in the slightest.