Last night, Oscar-winning actress and Chanel ambassador Penélope Cruz, fittingly dressed in a stunning red floor-length haute couture dress by the French luxury house, looked ready to celebrate at the Museum of Modern Art’s 14th annual film benefit in New York City, which honored Cruz and her professional achievements.
The relationship between Chanel and Cruz is fostered by mutual contributions to the world of cinema. When Gabrielle Chanel founded the house back in 1910 (when film was still a relatively new medium), the fashion visionary instinctively recognized its profound influence on our culture, and consequently went on to design for several original Hollywood stars, including Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo, to name a few.
Now, in 2021, Chanel boasts its loyalty to the MoMa film exhibition program that has both conserved and expanded the museum’s film archives for over a decade and counting. The program’s return to in-person celebrations culminated in a gala attended by other titans of the industry, among them Kristen Wiig, Leslie Mann, Anne Hathaway, and Diane Kruger, who all donned full Chanel glamour (naturally).
Funds were raised to ensure the preservation of film’s most treasured works, aiming to immortalize the voices of storytellers for generations to come. Cruz herself represents the ongoing story between the powerhouses of cinema and Chanel’s longstanding sponsorship of the art form that catapulted her to fame. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.
