SAINT LAURENT’S BLURRY MOON: CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT (SORT OF)

words by VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ

In the ever-alluring intersection where cinema and fashion mingle, which seems to be the trend this week. Saint Laurent has unveiled Blurry Moon, a new short film co-produced with Because Music. It marks the directorial debut of Anthony Vaccarello, the maison’s creative director who, as it turns out, finds himself drawn to the lens after a long tenure on the production side. And who better to steer this surreal ride than Charlotte Gainsbourg?

Charlotte’s career-long relationship with music is, of course, part of her DNA. She was 12 when she first appeared on the scene singing “Lemon Incest” with her father Serge, and 15 when they released an album together. Now, in Blurry Moon, she lends her voice and pen once again, this time in collaboration with SebastiAn, for a soundtrack that begins as an atmospheric background and swells, stealthily, into something devastatingly beautiful.

The film itself is set along Los Angeles’ Mulholland Drive (yes, that Mulholland Drive), where Gainsbourg drifts through the Hollywood Hills in a Saint Laurent uniform and a casual 10-centimetre boot. She is technically at the wheel, though given her laidback pose some invisible current has to be pulling that car down the road. Here, Vaccarello’s vision blooms as a Lynchian fever dream, equal parts Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks. It’s also worth noting that this is not Vaccarello’s first brush with cinema (Saint Laurent Productions has already graced Cannes, and this year took home the Golden Lion at Venice with Father, Mother, Sister, Brother), but it is his first time sitting squarely in the director’s chair. The effect is both tender and cinematic, shaped by Charlotte’s gaze and the quiet hum of her voice. Saint Laurent’s elegance dissolves into pure emotion driven by Hollywood’s daydreams and disillusions. We’re left wanting more. A visual album, perhaps? Gainsbourg behind the mic, Vaccarello behind the camera.