Penélope Cruz on Walking Karl Lagerfeld’s Last Chanel Show
FROM THE HEART: Fresh from walking in the Chanel show on Tuesday, a white rose in hand, house ambassador Penélope Cruz shared some words on the experience, and memories of her time spent with Karl Lagerfeld.
“I felt like laughing and crying at the same time, to see all these people who loved him so much celebrating him together. But seeing all this, also it’s the beginning of something else, all that he’s created over all these years,” the actress said during an interview in front of one of the chalets in the alpine set.
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“The collection I saw today gave me goosebumps because everything is there: the past, present and future. I loved that they took the time at the beginning of the show, that they asked for that minute of silence. It made everybody stop and breathe, then there was the right kind of energy for the show,” added Cruz.
When asked to share memories of her time spent with the designer, she recalled being a little girl and “studying everything that he was doing, for all the different brands, but especially Chanel, and dreaming of getting to know him one day.”
Her wish came true. The first Chanel show she attended was in 1999, and she went on to have “a lot of different adventures” with Lagerfeld over the years. “I remember a very special dinner we had at the Hôtel Costes. My father was there and the way he treated my dad, how kind and respectful he was to my dad, even if they didn’t speak the same language, that always stayed with me,” she said.
“We all know he was a genius, but when you got to spend time with him, you discovered that other side, of kindness and sweetness. Over the last year working together with him, especially, we became close, we had a very strong connection. I loved all the conversations I would have with him, he knew so much about everything, and still had so much curiosity to keep on learning,” continued Cruz, whose last night spent with the designer was at the Métiers d’Art show in New York in December. “After the show, he asked me to go with him in the car and then we went for a walk in Central Park at midnight,” she said. “For me, it was such a magical moment, walking in Central Park at night in the winter, hearing his wonderful and funny stories.”
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