Chanel have just announced that Timothée Chalamet will be the new ambassador of the Bleu de Chanel fragrance. It marks the 27 year-old’s first ever collaboration with a beauty or fashion label. His first ad campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti, will be released in June followed by a short film directed by ‘friend of the house’ Martin Scorsese in the autumn.
Whilst it’s not necessarily earth-shattering news that a major fashion house is working with an acclaimed young movie star, Chalamet’s appointment feels like a progressive move for Chanel and an acknowledgment that depictions of modern masculinity are evolving. The French- American actor joins Chanel after the untimely death of Gaspard Ulliel, who was the first ever male ambassador for the brand and worked on campaigns for 12 years. Ulliel was a fine French actor but portrayed a more traditional example of what constituted ‘manhood.’ He was handsome, chiselled, strong and in the Scorsese commercial from 2010 was tortured by memories of a mysterious blonde woman. It’s 60 seconds of beautifully shot nightscapes, a moodily-lit press conference, two glamorous women, a pair of giant red lips and is Bond-like in its styling. It can be hard to get away from the idea that perfume campaigns are often about desire and desirability, but with Chalamet, Chanel have recruited someone that can bring something else to the party – sensitivity, duality and one hell of a range. This year alone we’ll see him play a young Willy Wonka, Bob Dylan and he’ll reprise his leading role in the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two.
Feted by Kenneth Turan of the L.A Times, who said “he might be the male actor of his generation”, Chalamet is a press darling, has a fervent social media following (over 18M on Instagram alone) and is equally at home on the red carpet, the film festival circuit and the front row. Fashion is clearly important to him. He co-chaired the Met Gala in 2021 and was the first ever solo male star to grace the cover of British Vogue. Last year he famously wore a sequinned jacket from the Louis Vuitton womenswear collection to the Oscars ceremony and followed it up with an iconic halter neck jumpsuit at the Venice Film Festival. Stars like Chalamet, Lil Nas X, A$AP Rocky and Harry Styles are exemplars of a more nuanced and idiosyncratic kind of modern masculinity. One that is playful, irreverent and unafraid of doing things differently.
The announcement of actress Whitney Peak as the new face of Coco Mademoiselle (also the first black fragrance ambassador for Chanel) and the arrival of Chalamet signals a new era for Chanel fragrance campaigns. With Bleu de Chanel I’m hoping the brand take their cues from their new signing and imbue the work with boldness, vulnerability and beauty. Showing the modern man, redefined.
Haydn Williams @yousmellgreatwhatist (IG)
