The Moodie Online Interview: Dree Hemingway captures the spirit of Chloé

The new Chloé campaign, starring Dree Hemingway, will air in September

Coty will begin a new chapter in the Chloé brand’s olfactory history next month with the introduction of the latest Chloé Eau de Toilette, which was unveiled earlier this summer in Paris.

As reported, the latest interpretation of the signature Chloé feminine fragrance will begin its domestic and duty free roll-out in September.

The face of the fragrance is actress Dree Hemingway, who is said to perfectly embody the Chloé values: modernity, natural femininity and independence.

At the launch event in Paris, The Moodie Report met with Hemingway, to discuss her role in the advertising campaign. And what an ambassadress she is: open and intelligent; articulate and funny, with a healthy sprinkling of droll self-deprecation.

“The brief was really quite simple,” she explains. “I play the [quintessential] Chloé girl, a mix of luxury and free-spiritedness. And I am that girl in real life, so it wasn’t like they were asking a lot of me, to be very different or to play a character that I had to research.”

She adds: “I got to do all the things I really enjoy. [The ad] was shot in Paris, and it’s intimate and free, but with a little mystery, which I think is very attractive. The director was Jordan Scott, who is incredibly talented and has such a beautiful eye. It was so nice to work with a woman director. She knows what she wants and that’s always a good thing.”

Hemingway’s connection with the brand is nothing new. “When I first saw the campaign for this fragrance [Coty introduced the original edp in February 2008], I remember tearing it out of a magazine, putting it on my wall, and thinking that the woman in the ad was the ideal and everything I wanted to be,” she reveals.

“Then years and years later I get the call to say I’ve been chosen to be the next face. I feel so honoured. Within fashion it is such an iconic brand, and one that has really stayed true to their woman. I think what Clare [Creative Director Clare Waight Keller] has done with the clothes is incredible. They are so balanced. I love the mix of structure and flow, young and old. It’s ageless. And it lets your personality shine through.”

She calls it “˜undone’, but Hemingway’s beauty simply seems effortless. For her interview she is dressed casually, in brown flared trousers and a print blouse, is shod in black and white flats, and sports numerous rings on her fingers. Her hair is loose; her make-up minimal. She is the epitome of upscale, Bohemian chic – aspirational yet not intimidating.

Chloé Eau de Toilette will begin its global roll-out next month

Hemingway’s manner is similarly approachable – and her enthusiasm for the fragrance is infectious. “I love it,” she exclaims. “It’s so beautiful, and very fresh. It reminds me of spring, my favourite time of year. I feel really lucky to be placed as the face of a fragrance I genuinely like a lot.”

She continues: “I think fragrance is such a personal thing. It’s the ultimate luxury, in a sense, because it’s so subtle, yet it can explain so much about a person. I think that this fragrance explains a lot about me”¦ I like scents that make me feel young and free; I always picture a girl spinning in a field, or not being constricted by walls – and I feel this fragrance is all of that, in one.

“But it’s not too young or too sweet. Like the fashion, it’s ageless. I also think how you wear it is important. I like to spray it in my hair, so it releases subtle hints and wears off gradually throughout the day.”

Hemingway is a collector of fragrances, although she explains that for her it’s more about aesthetics than the juice. “My mother used to display her fragrances on the bathroom table, near a glass tray, and they always looked so beautiful,” she reminisces. “I have a lot of fragrances too, but I don’t necessarily use them all. I also love natural oils. And for a while I went through a period of really enjoying men’s colognes.”

Noses Michel Almairac and Sidonie Lancesseur talk journalists through the new juice at the Paris launch event, held earlier this summer

In addition to fragrance, Hemingway is a cosmetics aficionado – and a big fan of travel retail. “I love to shop in airports,” she declares. “It’s where I buy all my beauty products. It’s my go-to place to find make-up and skincare [because] it’s a very non-distracted way of shopping. It’s done very well.”

She explains: “You throw yourself through the wringer of going through security, and then you walk out into this glamorous space. I see it and think “˜I need everything!’ It’s been the introduction to most of the make-up brands I really like. And it’s the only place you can find certain things, like a lot of the Tom Ford make-up I wear.”

Hemingway adds: “I also convince myself I’m spending less money, because it’s duty free. “˜I’m actually saving on this La Mer face cream’, is my philosophy. Although I always want to ask if I can have a fish with it [a reference to the brand’s signature fish tank],” she says with a chuckle.

The inflight channel, however, does not excite her – or her purse strings. “I never buy anything inflight,” she admits. “But then I need to touch and hold things. I don’t ever online shop either. Those scenarios are more of a “˜note to self, I might want that’ situation.”

In terms of a travel wish-list, Asia ranks highly. “It’s a region I’ve never really explored,” Hemingway observes. “I would love to go to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. I really enjoy submerging myself in different people’s cultures.”

She adds: “For vacations, I like places that are a bit more Bohemian, undone and untouched. You will never find me in an all-inclusive resort situation – I’m more of a shack-on-a-beach kind of girl.”

Looking good on the move isn’t easy. Hemingway advocates vitamin C , Mary Helen Bowers’ Ballet Beautiful programme and anxiety avoidance. “Stress [is not conducive] to beauty,” she notes. “I try to centre myself and be present, and not worry about little things – although that’s easier said than done.

“I’ve also learned that having a little bit of routine wherever you go is key. And I try to eat organic. But let yourself have guilty pleasures too – just don’t feel guilty about them.”

Hemingway’s CV shows off her success as an actress and model. What’s next on the list? “I would love to direct,” she enthuses. “I did ballet for years – and attended The School of American Ballet (the official ballet school of New York City Ballet)”¦ I would love to get into theatre, but I just don’t think it’s my time right now. Although something that mixes ballet with Broadway, like Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, which featured Billy Joel’s music, would be perfect. I’d love to do something like that.”

Hemingway is an educated fan of the arts, and lists visiting museums and listening to music as key ways to unwind. “I also like writing in my journal,” she reveals. “But not in a venting kind of way. I like to write about what I’m thankful for, and to remind myself how lucky I am to be here… I’m so fortunate to be doing what I do – it’s insane and amazing.”

Not all brand spokespeople are as openly appreciative of their role – or as humble – as Hemingway. She laughs: “My mother always said, “˜pretty is as pretty does’. She taught me to treat people they way I want be treated.” It’s a simple, but admirable, life philosophy from a fragrance face whose substance more than matches her style.

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