Blake Lively has certainly become fashion's newest darling -- she's been hailed as "the Jackie O. of her time," and an "American dream girl," and it seems the kind words won't let up any time soon. Women's Wear Daily got a hold of her debut ad as the face of Chanel and drilled the actress on how she got into fashion to begin with. Miles Socha writes:
Her mother, Elaine, was a fashion model who fronted a Hanes campaign and teamed up with her daughter to make dresses. "We'd always go down to the garment district with my father. We would go to really cool vintage stores or boutiques and we'd get a bunch of clothes and we'd sew a lot," Lively recalls.
[....]
Yet the actress says she has no ambitions to jump into the melee with a project of her own.
"I have such a respect for fashion and such an appreciation for it that if there are people like Karl Lagerfeld out there designing, who am I?" she asks. "I want to bow down to them and be a representative for them if they'll have me."
The "Gossip Girl" was also the subject of a New York Times profile over the weekend. She revealed, "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.'"
And, of course, there were other designers on-hand to sing her praises. Michael Kors explained to the Times, "You look at her skin and her hair -- she's healthy," Mr. Kors said. "It's the anti-bored, too-cool-for-school, locked in a club for months on end look that you see a lot of young actresses going for. There's something very optimistic about her. I think she's the anti-downer, anti-sad."
BLAKE LIVELY has been chosen as the new face of Chanel's Mademoiselle handbag line. She will appear in a campaign photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, from March.
"She's a kind of American dream girl," says Lagerfeld. "I think she will become a great actress. It [the shoot] was an easy job because everyone fell in love with her."
Lively and Lagerfeld were introduced to each other by Anna Wintour during Couture Fashion Week in July last year - an experience the Gossip Girl actress won't forget.
"How did Cinderella feel when she slipped on the glass slipper? How did Snow White feel when she met her Prince Charming?" Lively says. "A dream come true is an understatement. I can say that I feel like the happiest, luckiest girl around."
Lively doesn't think the excitement of her new job will wear off any time soon.
"I will always feel [the bag] is more than just a purse," she tells WWD. "It's a quilted case full of lipstick, love letters and the dreams and possibilities that I have always felt every time I see that beautiful CC."
Other famous faces to have starred in Chanel campaigns include Lily Allen, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou, Vanessa Paradis and Diane Kruger.
Her mother, Elaine, was a fashion model who fronted a Hanes campaign and teamed up with her daughter to make dresses. "We'd always go down to the garment district with my father. We would go to really cool vintage stores or boutiques and we'd get a bunch of clothes and we'd sew a lot," Lively recalls.
[....]
Yet the actress says she has no ambitions to jump into the melee with a project of her own.
"I have such a respect for fashion and such an appreciation for it that if there are people like Karl Lagerfeld out there designing, who am I?" she asks. "I want to bow down to them and be a representative for them if they'll have me."
The "Gossip Girl" was also the subject of a New York Times profile over the weekend. She revealed, "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.'"
And, of course, there were other designers on-hand to sing her praises. Michael Kors explained to the Times, "You look at her skin and her hair -- she's healthy," Mr. Kors said. "It's the anti-bored, too-cool-for-school, locked in a club for months on end look that you see a lot of young actresses going for. There's something very optimistic about her. I think she's the anti-downer, anti-sad."
BLAKE LIVELY has been chosen as the new face of Chanel's Mademoiselle handbag line. She will appear in a campaign photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, from March.
"She's a kind of American dream girl," says Lagerfeld. "I think she will become a great actress. It [the shoot] was an easy job because everyone fell in love with her."
Lively and Lagerfeld were introduced to each other by Anna Wintour during Couture Fashion Week in July last year - an experience the Gossip Girl actress won't forget.
"How did Cinderella feel when she slipped on the glass slipper? How did Snow White feel when she met her Prince Charming?" Lively says. "A dream come true is an understatement. I can say that I feel like the happiest, luckiest girl around."
Lively doesn't think the excitement of her new job will wear off any time soon.
"I will always feel [the bag] is more than just a purse," she tells WWD. "It's a quilted case full of lipstick, love letters and the dreams and possibilities that I have always felt every time I see that beautiful CC."
Other famous faces to have starred in Chanel campaigns include Lily Allen, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou, Vanessa Paradis and Diane Kruger.