14 DAY TRIAL // In January this year, “Gossip Girl” star and “it” girl Blake Lively was named the face of Chanel, for the Mademoiselle line of bags. Rumblings online claim that some Chanel insiders believe Blake is too “down market” for the brand.
For a very long time, Blake refused to endorse any product (such as clothing lines or accessories ranges) because, as she put it, she was “saving herself” for Chanel.
After a successful meeting with Anna Wintour from Vogue, the actress was introduced to eccentric designer Karl Lagerfeld from Chanel – and the collaboration just happened.
The first ads for Chanel with Blake are already in print, appearing in the biggest fashion magazines.
Even if Lagerfeld is head over heels with Blake, Chanel insiders believe she’s too much of a “standard mall beauty” to stand for the sophistication the brand embodies, the Daily Mail informs, citing ongoing reports.
“A source told the New York Daily News that there were ‘internal grumblings’ at the Chanel American headquarters,” says the Mail.
“They said that the star was considered ‘off-brand’ by some U.S. employees, which the paper translated as ‘the fashion industry’s clinical way of saying that Lively’s contemporary American beauty does not dovetail with Chanel USA’s efforts to sell its fashions as the height of European sophistication’,” says the same publication.
As expected, Chanel has already denied the claims, saying they couldn’t have found a better face for their latest campaign.
At the same time, Chanel is reportedly also taking extra safety measures to prevent rumors like this from ever surfacing in the media.
“The Daily News’ source claimed that Chanel ‘would literally fire anyone who admits’ they are not happy with Miss Lively as a spokesmodel,” says the Mail.
Neither Lively nor Lagerfeld has said anything about this. Presumably, the denial from Chanel should have been enough to shut nay-sayers up.