Chanel recruits Michel Gondry to revisit famous Kylie Minogue video

Starring Margot Robbie, Gondry’s latest ad for Chanel says as much about luxury’s reinvention as it does about Kylie’s iconic video.

Following his Chanel effort starring A$AP Rocky, Gondry is clearly keen to revisit his music video talents, and while nostalgic, his warm, casually elegant styling is very ‘now’.

Chanel has reunited the director with the spirit of his 2002 Kylie Minogue video ‘Come Into My World’ for the new Chanel 25 handbag campaign.

Margot Robbie stars in a one-take-style piece that cycles through repeated scenes with seamless choreography, echoing the original’s in-camera trickery. Kylie herself even makes a cameo, closing a loop in the ad, as well as a career loop, given that both women began their acting stints on Neighbours, decades apart.

Our take

In my recent take on Burberry’s Christmas ad, I marked it out as unusually opulent in an era where luxury fashion is becoming far more low-key in its flexing.

Gondry captures the zeitgeist far better, we reckon (although we do note in the article that Burberry usually nails it). In his recent work for Chanel, product placement feels secondary to the creative camera work and welcoming vibe.

On one level, the ad’s themes of cycles, nostalgia and continuation are very apt for a luxury house that trades in timeless elegance, but more notable is what’s not on display. Showiness, elitism and ‘unreachable desirability’ are in the bin, and in its place are elegant but approachable settings, joyful-but-laid-back acting, and warm colour tones.

Luxury advertising has been moving away from straight product shots and showboating for years, and Gondry’s return to his own music video masterpiece recalls his ad work for Levi’s and Smirnoff, where there’s a classy but achievable aesthetic.

In a tense cultural climate, Chanel has chosen smiles, uplifting action and cinematic innovation. Exactly what luxury should do in 2026.

All images: Chanel campaign film