CHANEL | Priscilla by Sofia Coppola

Supported by CHANEL, Sofia Coppola’s latest feature film tells the story of Priscilla Beaulieu, the woman who once shared Elvis Presley’s life. In this biopic, Sofia Coppola depicts their relationship and tells the story of Priscilla’s passage into adulthood, her quest for identity and independence.

Winner of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and the César for Best Foreign Film for Lost in Translation in 2004, Sofia Coppola worked alongside the up-and-coming actors Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi in the lead roles.

Greatly inspired by Priscilla Presley’s sense of style, her allure and personality, the filmmaker paid a truly Hollywood homage to her sensitive and rock’n’roll elegance: cat-eye eyeliner, upswept, bouffant hairstyles, shift dresses…

It was in this context, at the request of Sofia Coppola, ambassador of the House, that CHANEL specially created the wedding dress worn by Cailee Spaeny in the pivotal scene of her wedding to Elvis, reinterpreting the one Priscilla actually wore on her wedding day to the singer, in 1967. This embroidered gown is inspired by the spirit of CHANEL’s Spring-Summer 2020 Haute Couture collection, imagined by Virginie Viard and created thanks to the joint expertise of the Haute Couture and Métiers d’art ateliers. It is worn with a veil and a tiara, both embroidered by Atelier Montex. Other CHANEL creations also feature in the film, like a bottle of CHANEL N°5, glimpsed when Priscilla moves into Graceland, marking the affirmation of her new-found femininity.

CHANEL supports directors and institutions dedicated to the seventh art and encourages cinematic creation, continuing the links initiated by Gabrielle Chanel who, as early as 1930, travelled to Hollywood to design costumes for films produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Hollywood was at the heart of Virginie Viard’s inspiration for the House’s Cruise 2023/24 collection, presented in Los Angeles.

CHANEL has a long-standing creative friendship with Sofia Coppola. She regularly collaborates with the House, particularly when filming backstage at shows, such as for the 2019/20 Métiers d’art and the Fall-Winter 2021/22 Haute Couture collections. She often wears CHANEL on red carpets. When she received the Best Director Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled, she wore a black tweed suit with a white collar and cuffs, echoing the House’s emblematic codes.

Priscilla premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 4^th September 2023.

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