It’s hard not to think about Paris when thinking about CHANEL. It’s an entangled marriage that has withstood the hands of time that withers away most relationships. For this shoot I wanted to bring to life the Paris I feel and see when I think of CHANEL. Her perfectly monochromatic glow, silvery reflections of long casted shadows carrying the sound of clicking heels mysteriously descending from rue en rue, the dusty ashtrays at the night’s end as the last dance of smoke from a cigarette disappears into darkness.  This is my Paris. Black and white and smudged with history.

As I write this I am looking out at the rooftops of Paris from my suite at the Le Bristol Hotel pondering this wonderful moment in time. Time is a recurring constant in my life. As a photographer I count in tenths of a second and, as an artist, I try to pause it.

CHANEL released a new timepiece this season inspired by Coco Chanel’s nature to draw inspiration from the masculine wardrobe which has come to be an emblematic style of CHANEL. Coco was famed for her many boyfriends which, not surprisingly, inspired many of her creations and shaped the course of her life. It is then fitting the watch is named Boy.Friend – balancing both the iconic CHANEL watch shape but with a more masculine over-sized face, manual mechanical movement and ardillon buckle.

So we put the three together, my smokey silver city of lights, her mysterious fashion muse CHANEL and in the shadows the spirit of the woman who continues to inspire us all, Madame Coco.

CHANEL Fall 2015 collection and Boy.Friend Watch modeled by Alina Baikova || Styled by Kelly Framel || Makeup by Jennifer Nam || Hair by Billy Schaedler || Producer Erin Framel

More CHANEL stories:

Boulevard CHANEL || Play it for CHANEL || The Making of Haute Couture || Coco Chanel’s Apartment || CHANEL Cinemagraph || CHANEL Haute Couture || An Artist & CHANEL || Light & Time || CHANEL in Polaroids || CHANEL on the streets of NY || Waking up in CHANEL