Ultimate muse of the greatest directors of her time, Romy Schneider also deploys her aura through her incredible sense of style and fashion...
Evidenced by her costumes and outfits, extraordinarily staged over the course of the exhibition-phenomenon dedicated to the actress at the Cinémathèque de Paris which reveals the close ties between Romy and Gabrielle Chanel.
From little Austrian bride to style icon…
After the success that surrounds her character of Sissi , Romy Schneider remains a terribly shy personality but who seeks to emancipate herself and change her image. “ When I arrived (in Paris), I had suitcases of clothes bought like that, without knowing why. I wore them twice, I gave them away, I never had anything to wear… ”
Alain Delon was the first to push his fiancée to meet the designer Gabrielle Chanel, who was still too worried to get started…“ I didn't dare, I felt too much of an Austrian peasant, not a Parisian for two cents. I was thinking, “ That famous monster Chanel, how is she going to stare at me, criticize me? » ”
It was finally Luchino Visconti who allowed them to meet in 1961, when Romy was about to play the sulphurous character of a countess in the film Boccace 70 . The director organizes an appointment with his friend Gabrielle Chanel for the fitting session of his costume. “ Visconti took me to her house to choose my dresses. And when I put on my first Chanel, I realized that I would never want anything else again,” explained Romy Schneider. “Now I have my Chanel mini-collection, about fifteen suits and coats, and I'm sure I'll still be proud to wear them twenty years from now ”.
Coco Chanel: Romy Schneider's mentor
Boccaccio 70 will mark a turning point in the career of the actress. For the first time, Romy agrees to undress in front of the camera and learns to play with her sensuality while appreciating the sophistication brought to her by Gabrielle Chanel 's clothes .
The designer from rue Cambon will help Romy Schneider to build her style and becomes her mentor. From the height of her 78 years, the stylist, a brilliant workaholic, continues to invent silhouettes and fascinates Romy. “ The important thing is not fashion, it's elegance. Chanel taught me that.”
On film or television sets, she only accepts being dressed by this inspiring designer who shares the same quest for perfection, as she explained in ELLE magazine in 1963 in the interview “ Romy thinks everything high ”, making the destiny of these two women inseparable.
“ With that, I feel adorned in every sense of the word: embellished and organized… Chanel taught me everything without ever giving me advice. When we watch her work, destroy her work, start over, suffer for a badly washed tong, we are inevitably ashamed and we think: “ If only I could do my job like she does hers! Yes, Chanel above all taught me to be difficult. On the quality of the work, of a fabric, of a man. And that doesn't make life any easier. But I hate easy.
Also discover Romy Schneider, the destiny of an icon at the Cinémathèque de Paris
