Roger Vivier had interesting news on Friday, announcing that American Academy Award winner Laura Dern, “ambassador and friend of the House”, is starring in the first installation of the Vivier Express ‘Travelling Icons’ video series.

This comprises “whimsical short films, imagined by creative director Gherardo Felloni, to celebrate the Maison’s iconic designs in unexpected narratives”.

The Vivier Express continues a legacy of short films for the label featuring big names including Isabella Rossellini, Isabelle Huppert, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. 

For the project, Italian director Nicolangelo Gelormini, screenwriter Andrea Danese and Studio Paura continued the work they’ve produced with the brand since 2018.

The first episode is set against a “backdrop of enchanting landscapes”, and Dern’s character “embodies the essence of the Viv’ Choc handbag, a quintessential accessory that mirrors her own timeless elegance and allure”. 

As the train “rattles through cinematic vignettes, each frame captures the craftsmanship and innovation of Roger Vivier and reflects the incomparable charm of Laura Dern’s presence on screen,” we’re told.

The series also celebrates “the intersection of fashion, art, and storytelling”.

Episode 1 features a vintage steam train that sets off through the French countryside (“resplendent in shiny brass and blush pink velvet – a larger-than-life expression of the romantic Roger Vivier aesthetic”) on which Dern meets “a handsome stranger”.

Gherardo Felloni said that “it feels natural to communicate Roger Vivier’s aesthetic through cinema, given the House’s historic connection to Hollywood and the world of French and European cinema that began with Belle de Jour. 

“Laura Dern is an actress with a rare charisma, and I am obsessed by the David Lynch films she has acted in, so she has often been an inspiration for me,” he added.