On Jan. 20, Chanel unveiled their Spring-Summer 2024 Haute Couture via a short film starring Kendrick Lamar, directed by pgLang creative partner David Lang. The full film for the show was released on Jan. 23 at 6 a.m. MST.
The film stars actress and house ambassador Margaret Qualley. Qualley made her debut in the 2013 drama Palo Alto but gained recognition through her supporting role in the HBO drama series The Leftovers.
The film follows a young woman trying to retrieve her lost cuff button, so she rushes to Paris, France, to meet the head designer. There, the designer explains that the young woman’s grandmother told her to intentionally make the button loose so that one day they could meet and she could tell her, “Beauty within the imperfections of time,” the tagline for the upcoming 2024 show.
Lamar lays out a beautifully orchestrated, upbeat piece that paints a picture of an adamant yet frantic chase. The song puts together these gorgeous sweeping strings, haunting background vocals, and running piano that put you in the woman’s shoes.
Kendrick’s monotone vocal delivery creates a sense of straightforward thought. All that is going through her head is the need to get to her destination. This is a complete contrast between the often eclectic instrumentation, sounding through the bellowing background vocals, the bass-heavy percussion, and the high strings. All of these clashing aesthetics blend the score in such a way to beautifully summarize this short film.
