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Last year, Blake Lively became the face of Chanel’s handbag line. It was said that Blake was hand-chosen by Karl Lagerfeld, acting on advice from Anna Wintour – Wintour is a big fan of Blake’s Mall Girl aesthetic, and Blake has already scored two Vogue Magazine covers. Karl Lagerfeld photographed the ads himself, and the end result was… not all that exciting. The images weren’t bad or anything, they were just kind of boring. Blake said in a magazine interview that getting the Chanel contract was a dream come true, and that she had turned down other modeling offers because she was holding out for Chanel. When she finally did get the contract and everyone saw the boring ads, SOME critics were like, “Eh, why did Karl Lagerfeld choose a Mall Girl to represent Chanel? DOWNMARKET.”
Still, the ads ran and most people just kind of ignored them. Blake was “the face” of Chanel’s handbags for a year, and I haven’t seen any new Chanel ads with Blake this year…? I kind of suspected that Blake’s contract had run out and she was simply not asked back, which freed her up to become the face of Gucci’s new perfume, Premiere. I coverd her Gucci ad earlier this month – it was pretty boring too. Blake is simply a boring model, in my opinion – she’s pretty, she’s got a wholesome, slightly budget Mall Girl vibe, and I’m simply not buying her as “the face” of a major brand. But here’s the thing – rumors are flying that Blake has pissed off Karl and the House of Chanel! But why?
Reports have swirled of a rift between Chanel and Blake Lively, who’s an ambassador for the fashion house and appeared in ads for its Mademoiselle handbag last year. But she skipped Chanel’s couture show in Paris last month and then announced a deal to be a spokeswoman for Gucci fragrance Première, which will go on sale in September. She then wore a gorgeous yellow Gucci gown to the New York premiere of her film “Savages.” This all led some to believe there was friction with Chanel. But sources say all is fine.
“Blake is still an ambassador to Chanel and regularly keeps in touch with designer Karl Lagerfeld. She was invited to the couture show but couldn’t make it because she was promoting ‘Savages.’ She still wears Chanel whenever she can.”
Lively, who famously doesn’t have a stylist, has publicly proclaimed her love of the Parisian house, telling reporters at the time of her Mademoiselle campaign announcement: “I had other opportunities, and I would say, ‘Thank you so much, but I am holding out for Chanel . . . That’s who I want to be the face of.’ And people would say, ‘Well, that’s unrealistic. They only hire Europeans,’ and I said, ‘Well, how great. I’ll be the first then.’ ”
A rep for Chanel did not get back to us.
I would love it if Karl and Blake (and Anna Wintour!) were all part of some massive, Chanel-clad bitchfight. But I think this is what really happened: Blake got her Chanel contract, Karl shot some unimpressive ads, Blake’s promotion of the brand didn’t do much, and it didn’t add anything to the image of Chanel, plus Karl was roundly criticized by his staff for hiring Blake. Some time passed, Blake’s contract ran out and she got the hint and signed on to Gucci. It wasn’t some massive bitchfight, it was just Karl and Blake both taking the hint, you know?
Photos courtesy of Chanel, Gucci, WENN.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Advertising, Blake Lively, Karl Lagerfeld
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i’ve a feeling, this is all Choupette’s doing.
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Hahahahaha I knew that kitty was evil from the moment Karl introduced him to the world. Being raised by a death-eater that poor cat had no chance
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Yes she is very Boring! I imagine Gucci will do the same.
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…and that’s why I actually thought Frida Giannini from Gucci would have been pissed off when “Lively” signed on to Gucci. Just saying’.
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WGAF? She is a baggie eyed breast implanted no talent dime a dozen nothing.
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meh, just read this and I don’t care.. Although, how awesome would it have been had Karl done a round-house bitchslap of both Anna and Blake for being so very disappointing..
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Anna vs Karl vs Blake …. Obviously Blake would go first, she’d never withstand the onslaught from those two.
Quick question – what are we defining as a ‘mall girl’? We don’t have malls per se in GB
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I honestly don’t know.. maybe it means everyday pretty but nothing spectacular, memorable?
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Average looking vacuous generic blonde who you wouldn’t give a second glance to from what I can gather.
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Chanel and Gucci. Good for her.
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Oh lookey…the crypt keeper made a headline and it has nothing to do with Comic Con last week? I figure that is much more appro for him.
And BL, she is still relevant? Why?
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If Karl has anything to be mad at is that Gucci basically copied the ad he did with Blake last year, I can’t believe how similar the two ads’s are and nether one are.
http://www.justjared.com/2011/03/07/blake-lively-chanel-mademoiselle-handbag-ad-first-look/
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Neither of the ads are that good so I don’t see the problem.
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More like they didn’t want to renew the contract with Lively because let’s face it, she would never go for Gucci over Chanel if Chanel was still an option.
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she is giving us ‘Bacall’ in the Gucci ad, & her features look very at home in those classic, old-hollywood styles.
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please, don’t insult Bacall
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I think she is gorgeous.
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Dear God, Kunty Karl does look like a death eater.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Fashion Wars.
I can see that
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My god, her quote on holding out for Chanel is so aggravating; mostly because it points directly to the conundrum that is Blake Lively.
Something about this girl’s ambition is so irritating. I should admire her gumption and determination but I just can’t. It bothers me how she works the game and her thinly veiled motivations only help to discourage any esteem I would be able to muster. Yet she is able to show results for her labor. She has as much “try” as Ashley Greene and as good a body as Jessica Biel. Yet she gets results for all her hustling and all they get are modest shrugs.
Honestly, it must be great to be young, white and relatively pretty.
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Despite her sweet girl act, it’s obvious that she’s very full of herself.
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you nailed it. she ‘s incredibly full of herself for one so talentless.
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Without having read the post, I hope so. I think Lagerfeld’s a twit.
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I understand these brands looking to make themselves visible to a younger demographic. I just don’t think that Anna Wintour has her finger on the pulse of the under 40′s at all.
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Does he spray his hair with white costume hair spray? It totally looks it!
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AS IF Blake would pick Gucci over Chanel. They didn’t ask her back because she cheapened the brand.
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That’s a very sad looking Chanel ad. It’s not horrible, it’s just meh.
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KL wasn’t at the Met Ball either–it’s possible he’s pissed at Wintour all around.
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They keep trying to sell Blake to the world but we just aren’t buying it. I don’t hate the girl, far from it actually. She just hasn’t lived up to the hype that was created for her. Getting vogue, a chanel contract, being in a once hit tv show, etc. This would do wonders for some people’s career but it has done nothing for her. I think it is mainly because she is boring and lacks personality.
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Jealous people are so funny.
They fail to realize that a major fashion brand hired her just after she was released from her previous contract. If Chanel didn’t want her or not, it’s not the point, but if she was such a failure as you guys say, then why would Gucci hire her? If her promotion for Chanel was so bad, then why would another big name hire her? Some people are so delusional it hurts… my stomach from laughing on their silliness.
Also, she made TIME 100 most influential people, she worked with Oliver Stone when he’s been off the picture for so long (for his own will), she’s invited to the biggest fashion gigs, she’s apparently happy in a relationship with a guy who seems to be crazy about her. She’s been on the cover of all major magazines in the country. And still some people say nothing paid off, that she doesn’t sell, that she’s irrelevant. She’s so irrelevant that they go out of their way to read (and post) in an entry about her.
Wake up call, darlings, she’s very successful and it must be awful be so jealous…
That said, I don’t like the ads. I do think they could do better, she has some very beautiful photoshoots done for magazines, more creative and interesting than both ads. Or maybe they don’t need it to be too much, they just want to show it’s her… you never know.
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Hi Blake
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Do people know how fashion campaigns work? They are seasonal contracts and Blake was only contracted for spring 11. Very, very rarely do models/celebs do back to back season campaigns if they are not fragrances. Not to mention that Blake was modeling the Mademoiselle handbags which were a 2011 collection… a one time thing. People are so delusional and desperate to believe things to bring Blake down. She really cheapened the brand while other Chanel models like Alice Dellal and Lily Allen were so high class and sophisticated.
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Blake Lively piss someone off? Come on now that would be impossible.
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