Coco Chanel: Before and After

I had no idea how much planning would be required for the Talking Heads project. Nicole and I chose the subject of our video and then we chose the setting. We decided that since Nicole had done her presentation on Coco Chanel and I had led my discussion on her we already had a good base of knowledge to start our project. When meeting with Professor Douthwaite, I was amazed by everything that needed to be decided. Did we want music playing in the background? How did we want to set the scene? Who would play each part? What would we wear? What did we want to portray?

I had the most fun with the costumes. Since we decided to do show Chanel at an early point of her career and then 17 years later, there was an outfit change required for our video. In class, we’ve talked a lot about costumes and setting and the decisions that need to be made, but it all became much clearer when I was the one having to make the decisions. Both the early and later Chanel wore simple clothing, but there is a marked difference in the way they show their simplicity and so we tried to portray that.

It was also very strange trying to embody the character of someone else, and I hope my portrayal does Chanel justice. Before filming the video, I made sure to watch an interview of Chanel to try to imitate the way she sits and talks. I tried to be very calm and proper and I tried my best to look elegant. I also made a point to be more comfortable in my portrayal of the later Chanel by using my hands more and being more charismatic. I hope everyone enjoys the video!