The House that Chanel Built

“Chanel—you’re in desperate need of Chanel! , The Devil Wears Prada

Even if you don’t know anything about fashion, you’re probably familiar with the name Chanel. The house was driven to success through the efforts of its founder Coco Chanel. Though her name today is synonymous with sophistication, Coco (real name: Gabrielle) herself hailed from a small town and was largely uneducated, making her success even more impressive.

Now, though, due to French director Anne Fontaine, we will all have the chance to learn a bit more about Coco’s background and how she was able to re-define fashion. Audrey Tautou, of “Amelie fame, will play Coco herself. And in a very smart PR move, Tautou has simultaneously been tapped as the new face of Chanel No. 5.

If you still need more Chanel, two other Coco films are in the works: a biopic, and in one of the oddest pairings ever, the director of the cult horror flick “The Exorcist is at the helm of another project exploring Coco’s relationship with composer Igor Stravinsky.

Fontaine’s sounds by far the most promising, not only because of Tautou’s star power, but because it will focus on Coco before she became a legend. With Tautou as the face of Chanel No. 5, it seems that perhaps Fontaine will have the tacit approval of the design house … and one can hope, access to some exclusive material!