No other woman in fashion has inspired such a legacy as Coco Chanel. Her label elevated Parisian style to a whole new level of chic, breaking down the conventions of what was acceptable attire for a woman, the corsets being the first thing to go.
It can be argued that composer Igor Stravinsky did the same for music, breaking down tradition and convention to create an erratic yet emotive sound. His signature was a slightly off-kilter urgency, a frenzy of rhythm and beat.
It seemed inevitable then that the two would become lovers in 1930’s Paris. Although they did write a book together, Chronicle of My Life, the exact details of their affair have largely been unknown. That is, of course, until now, thanks to the creative mind of director Jan Kounen who has filled in the blanks with his new biopic Coco & Igor.
‘We know that they have been lovers but we don’t know the details,’ Kounen explained on the phone from Sydney, in Australia for a brief media tour. ‘That makes the work of Chris Greenhalgh and my work too, you know, very free in a way.
‘Of course we have details like where it happened, the fact that Coco was hosting Igor’s family in her house, but then we don’t know if they made love on the couch or in the garden, we don’t know details, so that’s where cinema comes from.’
On screen there is an inexplicable fission between Coco (Anna Mouglalis) and Igor (Mads Mikkelsen). While the composer is consumed with fire for his new lover, Coco runs cold, is aloof and unobtainable. It’s probably this detachment which spurs Igor on, despite the fact that his wife and children are also staying at Coco’s country home.
‘Coco was a fascinated by the work of Igor as an artist, and he was fascinated by Coco as a woman and they were kind of fun, in a certain way. They liked to provoke, to explore, to be free, but in different domains. In a way Coco was a woman very much in advance, her vision was a feminist vision about trying to be completely free having her own business, and Igor was very free in the art.
‘They were fascinated because they were so different, in a way. You almost have a confrontation about a vision of the world, Coco from the 21st Century and Igor from the 19th Century.’
What adds to this film is the richness of the set. No detail has been spared in recreating the world of Chanel. For Kounen, this meant a pilgrimage to the actual home of Coco.
‘I went also to the apartment of Coco Chanel that’s still there. It’s kept like when she left it, it’s kept to that. So I just spent time to see the furniture she had, to open the books she had, just to feel.’
The result is a film which brims with emotion and beauty, yet so elegantly restrained, just like Chanel herself.
Coco & Igor starts at Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema from Thursday April 15.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
