Insiders who sat through the Okja credits at Cannes or, more recently, in New York, may be wondering why Chanel received such an oversized nod during the thank-you scroll. It’s all because of the film’s star, Tilda Swinton, who co-produced the Bong Joon-ho- directed Netflix film, about a girl desperate to rescue her pet pig from its fate as a corporate food product. Swinton, who plays Lucy Mirando, the villainous CEO who launches a global contest to raise the biggest pig, also hatched the Chanel plan.
“It occurred to me that Lucy might want to wear something special” to represent the winning swine’s nation, South Korea, says the star. “I remembered this [hanbok from] a beautiful Korean show that Chanel did in Seoul. I asked them immediately, and they were such good sports.”
Originally outfitted with a black ribbon, the millennial-pink piece from the 2015 resort collection has a green ribbon onscreen (the Mirando company’s signature hue). Ahn Seo-hyun wears her own version of the look in the winner’s ceremony scene, set in Manhattan.
Swinton (who has said Mirando is a mashup of Ivanka Trump, Richard Branson and Marissa Mayer) also wears Chanel in conference room scenes, said costume designer Catherine George, who worked with the star on Snowpiercer. “We thought it was a good match for someone of Lucy’s stature.”
This story first appeared in the June 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
