For one of the opening scenes, Durran dressed Karenina in a fur-trimmed velvet coat and feathered hat which she accessorized with white gold and diamond earrings (see them up close in the next slide).
Knightley, who has collaborated on several ad campaigns for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle perfume with director Wright, wore Chanel Fine Jewelry throughout the film. Love them? Many of these pieces are available for sale. Cascade earrings in 18-karat white gold, set with 2 pear-cut diamonds of 1 carat each and 68 brilliant-cut diamonds for a total weight of 9 carats, CHANEL FINE JEWELRY. Price upon request. chanel.com
Here, Knightley wears a dark red taffeta gown during one of the film's ball scenes. Of the actress, Durran remarks, "Keira is ideal to dress, and so collaborative; she had good suggestions about adjusting things."
Knightley dazzled in over $2 million worth of fine jewelry which was exclusively loaned by Chanel for the film. Here, she wears a layered pearl necklace and pearl and diamond earrings (check them out in the next slide)
"It was great to pick the diamonds every morning for Anna’s outfits as she would have done in that era," recalls Durran. "I never realized how fantastic and bright diamonds were!" Fleur de Perle earrings in 18-karat white gold, set with 6 round-cut diamonds for a total weight of 3 karats, 288 diamonds for a total weight of 2 carats and 2 pear shaped South Sea pearls, CHANEL FINE JEWELRY. Price upon request. chanel.com
Director Joe Wright asked Durran to infuse Anna's period costumes with a modern twist, and for inspiration, she looked to some of the post-World War II work from fashion houses like Balenciaga and Dior. "I thought that Joe's idea was genius, because a lot of 1950s couture was itself looking back to an earlier time," Durran says. "We looked at some images from that time next to fashion pictures from the 1870s, and although they were eight decades apart, the two periods meshed together very well" Durran says.
"Anna's thematic color scheme is dark (like the jet black taffeta ball gown, shown here)," Durran comments. "What she wears becomes somewhat lighter in tone when she becomes enraptured with Vronsky, before returning to the darker hues as she becomes anxious and paranoid that his affections towards her have waned."
A closer look at a dazzing, layered white gold and diamond necklace worn by Knightley (get a full view of the piece in the slide).
Camélia Poudré necklace in 18-karat white gold, set with 2 round diamonds for a total weight of 6.80 karats and 693 diamonds for a total weight of 89 karats, CHANEL Fine Jewelry. Price upon request. chanel.com
A New Level of On-Screen Opulence: The Costumes and Jewels of Anna Karenina
Feast your eyes on some of the lavish costumes and jewelry worn by Keira Knightley in the new film
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There is no lack of theatricality in Leo Tolstoy's dramatic novel Anna Karenina, a fact that wasn't lost on the makers of the new version starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law (in theaters November 16; watch the trailer below). So, in director Joe Wright's adaptation, he made one bold change: He set most of the action inside a theater, which meant the sets and costumes were constantly changing and evolving.
To tackle the challenge, Wright once again turned to Academy Award-nominated costume designer Jacqueline Durran (the two previously worked on Atonement and Pride and Prejudice). Much of Durran's work, of course, went into outfitting the film's title character, whose elite position in St. Petersberg society must be reflected in her elaborate garments and exquisite jewels. "The image of every scene was already in Joe's mind, so my job was to find out what it was and to try to fulfill his idea," she says. "But even though he had pre-thought it all, he still looked forward to using what I gave him."