Sofia Coppola Directs New Chanel 11.12 Bag Campaign Film

Sofia Cappola’s latest movie is a short film that celebrates the craftsmanship behind the iconic 11.12 Chanel bag. A timeless design that crosses ages, and brings together generations. Keep scrolling and discover the film exclusively. 

The short film, directed by Sofia Coppola, features celebrities Anna Mouglalis, Carole Bouquet, Iman Perez, Zoé Adjani and Louise de Chevigny. But, the real deal in the film is the 11.12 bag, one of the classics of the French house. Called “The Chanel Iconic”, the campaign (of which the photographs were shot by the duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin), comes to life in Paris, in the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés or on the Pont-Neuf: actresses and models celebrate the timeless handbag that has effortlessly graced and still is gracing the shoulders of women around the world.

"Your first Chanel bag is an unforgettable memory, it's a rite of passage" said the filmmaker who gave us iconic movies such as Lost in Translation and Virgin Suicides. “I wanted to focus on the bag, the way it is designed, how it makes us feel - as we see it on women walking in Paris, in their daily lives, but who also have a bit of mystery”. It is then up to everyone to make it their own. "The bag becomes part of an experience, it is an accessory for life," Zoé Adjani states. “Sofia Coppola has brought out the personality of each of us through this bag. It slots into multiple realities".

An iconic bag 

While it is in the same line with the 2.55, a bag designed by Gabrielle Chanel in 1955, the 11.12 is nonetheless a legendary model. It was in 1980, under the creative direction of Karl Lagerfeld, that the bag was reinvented by the designer. Borrowing the signature codes of the 2.55, like the diamond quilting, it is however the first to be adorned with the double C on the clasp and a metal chain interwoven with leather.

Its shoulder strap, interior pockets and supple leather make it a daily companion: "This handbag merges with the spirit and fantasy of its designer. Gabrielle Chanel invented this bag, with a shoulder strap, because she wanted to have her hands free (...)” explains Carole Bouquet. "And then she had the absolutely brilliant idea of ​​making that raspberry color, which has become burgundy today, inside the bags so that you could see what was in it. The idea is to make it practical. I don't have a bag for the beauty of it, I need it to be practical. If, in addition, it is pretty, so much the better". A design that, day after day, crosses eras and generations.