Kristen Stewart steps into Coco Chanel’s shoes

No, Kristen Stewart is not taking a stab at designing for Chanel (phew), but she is taking a stab at playing the iconic designer. Or rather, playing an actress who is playing the iconic designer. You follow?

In a fictional short film conceived by current Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld, Stewart plays an actress set to portray the young Coco Chanel in a yet-to-be-made biopic about her.

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel founded the famed fashion house in Paris in 1909.

The short was filmed over two days in director Luc Besson’s Paris studio last month and will premiere at Chanel’s next Metiers d’Arts show in Rome on December 1.

25-year-old Stewart, who is best known for her role as Bella Swan in the Twilight series, is already a spokesmodel for Chanel and has appeared in two campaigns.

Lagerfeld, who wrote the plot, dialogue, designed the costumes and took charge of casting said: “She played it really, really mean,” he said. “You only see her in tests and she’s complaining about everything. She’s mean with the director; mean with the producer.”

He has previously enlisted Stewart’s fellow actress and Chanel model Keira Knightley to play the famous designer in another short film.

“They make so many movies about Chanel, why can’t I make one?” he told WWD of his latest reimagining of the house's eponymous founder. We sniff a feature-length film on the horizon. Watch out, Tom Ford.