London's Saatchi Gallery was transformed into a picture of Chanelegance last night for the exclusive preview of 'Second Floor', a new photographic exhibition by Sam Taylor-Johnson - and* Grazia Daily* was there to soak up the A-list action. The Turner Prize-winning artist and director of much-hyped film* Fifty Shades Of Grey* arrived at the swanky event on the arm of her tres dapper husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson while actor Jamie Dornan (mega swoon) joined the fash pack to lend support.
Sam's images of Coco Chanel’s private apartment create a beautiful portrait of the style icon, exposing touching revelations about her love-life, bereavements and spirituality. Each detail is truly mesmirising and the images are printed on fancy cotton paper so they're like vivid paintings that you can step right into, transporting you into 1920s Paris.
Sam Taylor-Johnson's shots from inside Coco Chanel's apartment [Chanel]
One lady who has been to the apartment at 31 Rue Cambon is Poppy Delevingne (naturallement). 'I've seen the apartment on numerous occasions so it's quite unreal how many details Sam's picked up that I'd never noticed,' she tells us while looking typically chic in a sequinned jacket. 'It's an incredible insight into what Coco Chanel's apartment really looks like'.
Indeed, Sam has brilliantly focused on what was personal to Chanel, from tarot cards left on her desk to a set of crystal balls. The images are so personal that you can imagine Coco languishing about the apartment while Sam Taylor-Johnson shoots her trinkets. Poppy agrees that the designer's spirit is still imbued in every room.
Poppy Delevingne and Laura Bailey inside the Chanel exhibition [Rex]
'It's kind of mystical and Sam picks up something ghostly about the apartment like [Coco] never really left. It's very dreamlike,' she says. It's a particularly special place for the model considering this is where she and Karl collaborated on her wedding dress. 'I've got pictures of me standing on the mirrored stairs in my wedding dress so it'll always hold a very special place in my heart'.
For Laura Bailey, another stylish Mademoiselle in the Chanel crew, experiencing the apartment is always peaceful. 'I go really quiet for the first moment - there's a hush that falls,' she says. 'Even when I've been working or shooting, there's a peaceful when you first arrive.'
Amelia Warner, Jamie Dornan, Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Taylor-Johnson [Rex]
And that same sense of awe was present in the exhibition room last night too. Witness it for yourselves at The Saatchi Gallery from 12th September to 4th October 2014 (admission is free).