Taking place at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the annual soirée was a typically star-studded affair.
Well, that’s (almost) all folks. As the 98th Academy Awards are set to take place in Los Angeles this Sunday 15th March, a collective sigh amongst the industry is almost audible. Since its unofficial kick-off at Venice Film Festival in August, it’s been one hell of an awards season. With such a high caliber of titles and performances in the mix, Sunday night is looking to be one of the most nail-biting ceremonies to date.
But before the final show—time for a party. Waving out the awards season, for the 17th consecutive year, last night Charles Finch and CHANEL hosted their annual pre-Oscar party. Taking place at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the guest list was a typically dazzling roster of names across cinema, music, fashion and media.
Those in attendance from this year’s list of nominees included Hamnet’s Jessie Buckley and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’s Rose Byrne from the leading actresses race (both equally resplendent in Chanel gowns), whilst supporting actresses included One Battle After Another’s Teyana Taylor (particularly eye-catching in a Chanel multicoloured shearling coat) as well as Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, who are both nominated for their performances in Sentimental Value. Amongst the actors included The Secret Agent’s Wagner Moura, Blue Moon’s Ethan Hawke, Sinners’ Delroy Lindo, Stellan Skarsgard (also from the Sentimental Value family) and Train Dreams star Joel Edgerton.
Directors such as Josh Safdie, Joachim Trier, Mary Bronstein and Clint Bentley also came down for festivities, whilst other key names included last year’s Best Actor winner Adrien Brody who attended with Georgina Chapman as well as other legends in music and film such as Al Pacino, Mick Jagger, Jessica Alba, Sigourney Weaver, Meg Ryan, Judd Apatow (whose daughter Maud Apatow was also in attendance) as well as Sharon Stone. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos also came down to celebrate ahead of the ceremony.
Naturally, Chanel ambassadors were also out in full force, from Nicole Kidman and Kristen Stewart to Lily-Rose Depp, Gracie Abrams and Sarah Pidgeon (with her Love Story co-star Paul Anthony Kelly in tow). Addressing attendees as they took their seats, Finch reflected on the importance of cinema to the house. “[Chanel’s] relationship with cinema began with Gabrielle Chanel and continues today,” he said. In her lifetime, Chanel dressed Nouvelle Vague actors such as Jeanne Moreau and Romy Schneider and worked with directors such as Alain Resnais and Louis Malle. Whilst Chanel N°5 and other perfume campaigns are themselves cinematic events (with Luca Guadagnino, Ridley Scott and Baz Luhrmann amongst directors), in recent years the house has also worked on costumes for blockbusters such as Barbie (2023), and, in a full circle moment Richard Linklater’s 2025 Nouvelle Vague–for which Chanel recreated a 1956 bustier. This year Chanel have also supported the production of the Oscar-nominated Arco, an animated feature film by Ugo Bienvenu, whose Paris-based studio Remembers provided visuals for the 2021/22 Métiers d’Art show.
Finch, who worked with the house whilst executive producer of Sofa Coppola’s Priscilla (2023), also took a moment in his speech to reflect on Custom of the Country, the Edith Wharton adaptation he currently has in production. “Being on a film set reminds you that cinema is a universal language. On the film I’m working on now, the crew includes British, American, French, and Portuguese artisans—all united by one goal: to bring a story to life,” he said of the film, which stars Sydney Sweeney. “That spirit is what tonight is about—and how this dinner originated: celebrating cinema, storytelling, and the storytellers who make the magic happen.”
Continue Reading
