Keira Trumps Kate with Coco
by Gina Serpe
Apr 26, 2006, 1:25 PM PT
For Keira Knightley, sweet success smells a lot like Chanel.
The recent Academy Award nominee has been tapped to succeed Kate Moss as the newest face of the French fashion house's Coco Mademoiselle perfume. Knightley will begin appearing in print and TV ads for the fragrance in 2007.
"I am really proud to have been asked to work with such an iconic house as Chanel, and thrilled to follow the extraordinary women who have been associated with it before," said Knightley, who now joins Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve and Johnny Depp's paramour, Vanessa Paradis, in the ranks of Chanel girls.
"Keira's elegance, beauty and modernity are but a few of the qualities that parallel the iconic faces featured in legendary Chanel fragrance campaigns," the brand's artistic director, Jacques Helleu, said in a statement.
While terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed, British media value the contract at upwards of $1 million.
The naming of the 21-year-old actress as the new face of Coco Mademoiselle confirms the nearly two months of rumors that Moss, who has fronted the fragrance since its debut in 2001 (and coincidentally will be appearing in an upcoming Calvin Klein campaign with Knightley ex Jamie Dornan), would not see her contract renewed. Though thanks to her much-publicized comeback and recent slew of endorsement deals, the supermodel is unlikely to smart from the news of being replaced.
Chanel, too, claims there are no hard feelings and that the succession of spokesbabes was a business decision, not one reflecting any judgments on Moss' troubled year.
"Chanel has enjoyed its collaboration with Kate for the last six years, which continues until the end of 2006, and Chanel maintains a close relationship with Kate Moss," Christine Dagousset, executive vice president of fragrance and beauty, told Women's Wear Daily.
"We think Keira is the perfect Coco Mademoiselle woman because she is always incredibly alluring and seductive...What makes Keira exceptional is that she shows strength and independence through the film roles she chooses to play," Dagousset said.
But the flattery--and comparisons--didn't stop there.
"She certainly has a vein of irreverence that is similar to Mademoiselle Chanel herself," she told WWD. "In fact, we think of Coco Mademoiselle as the fragrance Mademoiselle would wear if she were 21 years old in the 21st century. Coincidentally, Keira turned 21 in March."
Coincidence, indeed. Not to mention nice marketing tie-in.
The endorsement deal, high-profile as it is, is nothing new for Knightley.
For the past four years, the actress has been the face of Asprey, the British luxury house best known for baubles and assorted high-end accessories.
Despite her heavy slate of modeling duties, Knightley will be continuing with her day job.
The Pride & Prejudice star recently wrapped production on several movies, including the highly anticipated second and third installments of Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest hits the big screen on July 7.
