It's rare that a person can be deemed both fashion royalty and real-life royalty, but such is life for Charlotte Casiraghi.
The 35-year-old daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover and granddaughter of Grace Kelly surprised onlookers at the Chanel runway show during Paris Fashion Week with an appearance. It wasn't just any old runway strut, however. Charlotte appeared on horseback, riding her 8-year-old Spanish bay horse, Kuskus, down the runway.
Charlotte is a writer and model who founded her own film company. She is a force with a historic family who balances beauty and achievement. To see her on horseback in her tweed shrunken black jacket, riding boots, and jockey's cap was a major moment.
Charlotte became a Chanel ambassador in 2020, though it feels the brand is practically part of her family. Her mother, Princess Caroline of Hanover, is practically a lifelong fan of the fashion house. Late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld was a close family friend.
"It's almost as if I was born with Chanel. I think of photos of my mom, when she was pregnant with me," she shared in an interview when she was announced as brand ambassador.
"Wonderful photos by Karl Lagerfeld, with her wearing Chanel."
Charlotte's first campaign for Chanel was shot at La Vigie, Karl Lagerfeld’s home in Monaco. The moment was special for her on a number of levels.
"It was so pleasing to wear the collection for the shoot, and I got very emotional doing it at La Vigie, a house on a hill overlooking Monaco, which is full of history for me, as it's Karl’s old house," she said at the time.
Charlotte has also spoken before on the significance of horses to her, something she shares with Chanel founder Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel.
"They've had an important role in my life since childhood," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2013.
"They gave me the energy to move forward, the ability to fight, giving me a rare confidence and invaluable strength. They taught me great humility too."
Charlotte has expressed her desire, in her work with Chanel, to emphasize the fashion house's longstanding message of female empowerment. She hopes to be an example and inspire a generation of women who love to look stylish while pursuing their deepest passions.
