kookoo for coco

50 Shades Director Shot Coco Chanel’s Apartment

Photo: Michael Tran/Getty Images

From the set of 50 Shades of Gray to the halls of 31 rue Cambon. That’s been Sam Taylor-Johnson’s trajectory. The director is taking a brief break from moviemaking to work on a photographic project with Chanel. She was allowed access to Coco Chanel’s private apartment on the second floor of the Chanel atelier. The suite is not open to the public and has been completely preserved — complete with the designer’s volumes of Shakespeare and Voltaire and camellia-embellished chandeliers. Taylor-Johnson told the Telegraph, “Shooting at Coco Chanel’s apartment was an unexpectedly absorbing experience. The essence of Chanel is firmly rooted there in all of her possessions, and I truly believe that her spirit and soul still inhabit the second floor.” The photo series, titled “Second Floor,” will be exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery in London this September, and will also be published in coffee-table-book form.

50 Shades Director Shot Coco Chanel’s Apartment