💠Lily-Rose Depp for VOGUE Japan
This article first appeared in the VOGUE JAPAN January 2018 Issue No. 221.
LILY-ROSE DEPP
VOGUE Japan January 2018.
Lily Rose Depp is a young woman who has spent her life moving between worlds. Daughter of the iconic French singer Vanessa Paradis and Hollywood movie star Johnny Depp, she has adopted the best aspects of both cultures into her character. She is at once a chic and cool Parisian and a goofy LA valley girl. She is a world class beauty who, at the tender age of 18, still seems unaware of the effect she can have on those around her. And, as she continues to discover who she is, Depp reveals in being able to disappear into a character and become someone else.
She has also followed in the footsteps of both her parents. Garnering warm reviews for her acting work in The Dancer and has landed lead roles costarring with Oscar winners like Nathalie Portman in Planetarium. At the same time, she has become the face of the Chanel No. 5 L’eau perfume, walked in a number of Chanel show (including as the bride for the spring 2017 couture collection) and modeled for the house’s advertising campaigns, just like her mother before her.
We meet up in a hip Paris bistro to talk about her budding carrier, how she and Karl Lagerfeld like to exchange photos of their fluffy white cats Mittens (hers) and Choupette (his) and her plans to finally move out and being the next chapter of her life.
Do you feel like you are a girl of two worlds?
Yeah. Absolutely. When I’m here, I feel totally French and immersed here. But when I am in the US, I feel totally like a valley girl. I was raised there. I think if I had to pick one. I would rather raise kids here. There is a level of fakeness in LA you don’t have here. I don’t know… here if a person is rude to you, at least you know it’s real.
Did you always want to be an actress?
When I was little I want to be like a dancer and painter and a spy and model and president and an actress. It was always random. But I love acting. It gives me permission to get out of my own head for a second. That’s what I like about it.
You actually left school at 16 to pursue your acting career full time, isn’t that right?
Yeah. To be honest, I think it’s old-fashioned to believe you have to go to college…I just think that people don’t know that college isn’t mandatory. I love reading and writing. I just knew what I wanted to do and I didn’t want to waste any more time. The schooling system… I just think it’s not made for everybody. But that doesn’t mean I have stopped learning, I continue to read and self-educate myself. Actually my favorite writer is the Japanese author Haruki Murakumi.
Peter Lindbergh, VOGUE Japan Cover Story, Lily-Rose Depp, Paris 2017.
Let’s talk about the house of Chanel. It really has been a part of your life since the very beginning.
I am not going to say that my first word was Chanel, but….. (smiles) I remember my mom and my grandmother wore Chanel. So the smell is maybe the first thing I remember. My mom worked for Chanel when she was my age. I remember seeing all those bags. The clothes, shoes, all that stuff. There is actually a picture of me in my diapers where I am wearing a pair of her Chanel pumps.
So what was your first Chanel piece?
I’ll never forget my first Chanel piece and I still have it. It’s this little pink quilted bag. And you know what, it’s still so relevant now. It’s so timeless.
You have walked in a few Chanel shows now. There was the Casino show that you did with your mom, there you were the bride in the spring/summer 2017 couture show, you also walked in the Ritz collection, a show you repeated in Japan. Of all of those turns on the catwalk do you have a favorite?
They were all so different. Every Chanel show has a different vibe. But if I had to pick, I would say a bride. I never thought about it in a realistic sense, for me it would have been so ridiculous, so out of reach. When they asked me, literally I thought it was a joke. I was so excited and so honored. It is still surreal for me. It was insane. Even walking. I am not a model. I don’t fit the height requirement. Walking in any Chanel show is already an amazing experience, but being like a bride and walking out by yourself is so surreal. It was so so exciting. I felt like a princess.
That must be so surreal for you mom as well. Your mother was the famous Chanel advertisement for the Chanel N5 perfume where she is a bird in the cage and now you are representing the brand. What does that feel like?
It feels amazing. It is a huge honor that Chanel wants to keep working with me. I feel so grateful that they see something in me that could help tell the story of the brand. I look up to my mom so much. She’s the person I look up to the most. Being able to follow her footsteps with Chanel and continuing what she did in a way, it’s amazing.
Peter Lindbergh, VOGUE Japan Cover Story, Lily-Rose Depp, Paris 2017.
So is Karl Lagerfeld, like Uncle Karl to you…a part of the family?
I met Karl when I was 8. I’ve known him for a long time. He is somebody that I admire first of all. He is such a hard-worker. Since I started working with Chanel I have come to know better. In fact, my first shoot ever was with Karl when I was 15 with the eyewear campaign. He is somebody that I really look up to, that I honestly care about. He is really clear about what he wants, he has ideas in his head but he always wants to make sure you feel comfortable. It’s something that you won’t find everywhere. That’s really special about Karl. And now we send each other photos of our cats.
What was it like coming to Japan to walk in the Chanel show?
I’ve been to Japan only once before. When I was fourteen, it was a different world. I felt like such an embarrassing tourist, I was walking in the streets taking pictures of everything. Everything about Japan is so cool and different. Style is different. People have such distinct style and the way they express themselves through their clothing is amazing. There is an energy in the people there that reflects the energy of the city. Chanel represents classic French beauty and it was interesting to see how the Japanese reacts and interpret classic Chanel.
What’s the next big project you are working on?
I am trying to buy a new house in Los Angeles.
Is there a certain area in LA you like?
I don’t know where yet but I am going to build it myself. Because I am too particular. And it’s actually way cheaper to build a house. It’s gonna take more time but it’s gonna cost me less. That’s my next step as an adult.
