A kaleidoscope of designs and music immediately recognizable as those from the House of Chanel and composer Igor Stravinsky, magically open this film. Paris 1913, Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis) is a young, beautiful woman, the embodiment of elegance, who ultimately builds one of the most enduring fashion houses ever known. Her name will epitomize taste and her sense of design, Haute Couture for generations. Deeply in love with the rich and handsome polo player Arthur Capel, tragedy strikes and he is killed.

Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen), the revolutionary Russian composer is performing the world premiere of “The Rite of Spring” in Paris. Wild, primitive and completely unexpected, the Parisian bourgeois taste is appalled but Coco Chanel is entranced. World war engulfs Europe and when it is over Chanel is well on her way to building her remarkable fashion empire. Stravinsky is penniless and rooming in Paris with his wife and four children. As exiles of Russia, Katia (Elena Morozova) provides Stravinsky with the courage and inspiration to pursue his great musical talent.  Chanel and Stravinsky meet again and she takes the bold step of inviting him to stay along with his family at her magnificent villa, Bel Respiro.

Stravinsky and Chanel are fascinated with each other, both relentless in their pursuit of perfection, both great egos and obsessed with their art. This fascination becomes physical and the consequences predictable as the love triangle implodes. Director Jan Kounen captures the turbulent emotions of these characters amidst a world of incredible creativity and elegance.