“BABY BLUE
IS MY
FAVOURITE
COLOUR”

DEREK BLASBERG: Lily-Rose, let’s set the scene. Where are you and what’s on your face?
LILY-ROSE DEPP: I’m bare-faced and wearing PJs. I’m at my mom’s house in Paris, so this is my uniform here. My hair is tied in a little bun with a yellow scrunchie. It’s not too fabulous, to be honest, but I’m cosy.

I looked you up in my camera roll and our first picture together is from a Chanel couture show in 2017. You wore the finale look – a dreamy, ruffled, powder-pink wedding gown. Do you remember that day?
Vividly! That was a dream for me and a special moment, not only to be able to be part of such a beautiful show, but to be the bride and close the show on Karl’s arm. I was nervous but excited. It was absolutely titillating in every single way.

You’ve been a part of the Chanel family all your life – your mom began working with Chanel before you were born. Do you have an earliest memory?
It all goes back to my mom and her closet, and me rifling through all her things and marvelling at how beautiful it all was. I’d watch her get ready for events, put on these unbelievably gorgeous dresses, purses, jewellery and all the things that were just fabulous beyond my wildest dreams. I wanted so desperately to wear things like that – wishing there were mini versions for me. I feel like seeing my mom in Chanel as a girl shaped my fantasy of the woman that I dreamt of being. A lot of it was coloured by these incredible garments and by the beautiful presence I watched her inhabit. It felt like an ideal of femininity.

When I started working with Chanel it felt like a pinch-me moment, and even though it’s been 11 years, I still can’t believe I work with this incredible maison.

Best make-up tips from a Chanel shoot or show?
I know it sounds silly but the “less is more” maxim is real. I feel like it’s very French too. Whenever you work with amazing make-up artists you notice that they don’t use heaps of product – they work in thin layers and use their fingertips. That’s something I try to carry with me. I’ve always been a make-up girl – I love doing my own and I used to do my friends’ make-up in middle school before parties. I’ve worked with some of the most incredible make-up artists in the world and I would watch them like a hawk to see how they do things.

Coco Chanel always said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.”
I love that line. I often think about that when I’m getting dressed.

What do you think about femininity now versus when you were younger?
I was always one of those girls who was in a hurry to grow up and be a woman before it was time. When I grew old enough to wear heels, any kind of make-up or more womanly clothes, I was there. That was a way of entering the zone of being an adult. Now that I’m older and a grown woman, I feel like femininity can be many more things and you can inhabit it in so many ways. Maybe that’s because I’m not in a rush to show the world that I’m grown up, or because I actually am grown up. I can feel feminine in a lot of different ways, even if I’m just wearing pyjamas or jeans and a T-shirt, because it comes from within. That’s a realisation that comes with age. It’s all a performance, the way that you present to the world. It’s all a way of bringing forth what is within.

You grew up between California and Paris – are there things you’d only wear in one city or the other? Does a red lip work as well on Sunset Boulevard as it does on les rues de Paris?
Ha! A red lip is something I love but I’m scared to take the plunge. I’m brunette now, so maybe I will like it with my brown hair. Of course there are certain looks that feel more Paris and others that feel more LA. When I’m packing a suitcase, it’s more dictated by the weather. I live the winter fairy-tale dressing fantasy when I’m in Paris in a way that I can’t in LA, and then in LA it’s the warmer-weather stuff, which is a different kind of fantasy. I’m a big ballet flats girl – those are worldwide.

Are you brunette for a role?
I’m shooting right now and that calls for darker hair, but I think I might keep it. And I definitely didn’t recognise myself in the mirror for a while because I’m such a blonde at heart. I haven’t had my natural colour in years because I’ve been dyeing it, but it’s probably close to what I have now. I want to give my hair a break and be more natural for a minute. Maybe this will unlock a new era.

Your generation is rewriting the rules of beauty – less perfection, more personality. What do you think has been the most meaningful shift in how young women express themselves?
There are many downsides to social media and the way we all have access to one another, but one of the upsides is that we do have access to beauty imagery of so many different types and, with that, comes a conversation about embracing aspects that we didn’t talk about before. Embracing yourself for exactly who you are and what you look like, and the things that you like and the things that you don’t like, is all part of beauty. I think originality and uniqueness are sought after today more than ever before, and that’s a beautiful thing. People may be into what sets them apart more than ever, and more into embracing originality.

As AI becomes more present, imperfections – or what we consider more natural – may become much more desirable and seductive.
I totally agree! It’s a two-sided coin – we see much more of each other and how beautiful so many different people can be. The flip side of that is the “perfected” version that you put out there and how you present online versus how you are in real life. I definitely agree with you on that – just as there has been a rise of this unattainable false beauty thanks to things like AI, we will also see a rebellion rising against those forces to hold on to what makes us human.

There’s an essay in COCO about lip gloss – how it’s a companion through the stages of a woman’s life. Did that resonate with you?
As I said, I’m a make-up girl! Products are secret weapons. A glossy lip never goes out of style.

If you could go back and whisper something to your younger self about beauty, self-confidence or becoming, what would it be?
There are many things that I would want to say, like, “Stop worrying. It’s gonna be fine.” But then, also, I feel like everything that you go through as a young woman is on your way to becoming yourself. We’re constantly evolving and you never arrive, which is a beautiful thing. Every step along the way is important. I look back and there are so many things that I wouldn’t have worn, or wouldn’t have said, or wouldn’t have whatever. But I think all those moments were important to me in arriving at where I am today, and where I am today is important for where I’ll be tomorrow. I wouldn’t say anything to my younger self – I’d just leave her to it and let her find her way.

You’ve said that acting is a way to explore different lives. Has playing certain characters taught you something about yourself that you may not have expected?
For sure. I see acting as a deeply spiritual practice and every role you are lucky enough to take on is on your path for a reason, and it will teach you about yourself or heal something inside. Acting is very emotional. Everything I have played has been for a reason, and sometimes you don’t realise the lesson or what you took from it until later. But I think it’s all a gift, and every role I’ve played has taught me something about myself or let me explore something I had maybe ignored.

As we’ve already mentioned, social media is such a double-edged sword. But I think it has opened up a dialogue advocating for the character work that comes through costuming or beauty in film and TV. Have you ever worn a costume or tried a beauty look that helped with character work?
Costuming is a huge factor for me in building the character. As an actor you prepare as much as you can, and you try to understand and connect with that fictional person in as many ways as you can. But the outer layer tells you so much – how we, as people and as characters, choose to dress says so much about who we are. Whether it’s connecting to something that’s very modern and zeitgeist, or whether it’s a period piece where the costumes are of another era, it helps ground you in a world.

Thinking back to Nosferatu, playing Ellen Hutter, my costumes were some of the most beautiful things I’ve been privileged enough to wear. I wish so badly that I could put one of those dresses back on. Linda Muir, the costume designer, is so incredible, talented and knowledgeable. She’s a historian and knows everything about the periods she is dressing for. It was fascinating to work with her and talk to her about the era. I love history as well – that’s a fascinating part of the job.

Beauty also takes us to a different time. For Nosferatu you had super-pale skin and super-hollow eyes.
I shot Nosferatu a month or two after I wrapped The Idol as Jocelyn, so it was really a 180, look-wise. I had to get used to seeing myself looking pale and ghostly after being sun-kissed and blonde for so long. Whiplash! It was a different vibe, but I love that too. That is what’s so fun about the job – you get whisked off into these worlds and become fully immersed. There’s something inspiring about looking in the mirror and not recognising yourself.

What do you think the colour of the next decade will be?
I have no idea. I never care about what colours are “hot”. I feel it’s more about what you like and what suits you. My favourite colour is baby blue, to answer your question. Let’s put that out into the world.

What beauty trend do you think should make a comeback?
A skinny brow is something I’ve always been curious about, but I’ve never touched my eyebrows, and I’m scared that if I ever did they would not grow back. Also, because I’m super-pale right now, I’ve been into period-piece make-up – very wintry, like a Jane Austen-movie make-up look. I think that’s really cute.

What is a rule we should all ignore?
All of them? Just do your thing. Just do you.

Chanel product names are basically mini poems. If you were naming a lipstick, what would you call it?
Naming products would be such a fun job. I’m jealous of whoever gets to do that. But the name depends on so much. What’s the colour of the lipstick?

What about a baby blue lipstick?
Bisou! Kiss in French.