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Helping Riley Keough revive Graceland is such a personal matter of creativity with Chanel. For the latest project of the luxury house, “In Process: Riley Keough – Chapter 1: Writing,” the window is thrown open for the audience to glimpse into the mansion as a legitimate family residence, not just a tourist stop.
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The video is shown in black and white, with Keough ambling through the corridors of Graceland, holding a child only to stand on its grand staircase for a while. Another scene depicts her wandering alone in front of a cluster of writing desks. The caption is very brief and simply reads “In Process,” leading one to speculate whether this could be just the first chapter of something much larger and grander to come. The visuals are steeped in poetry and nostalgia, as though Keough is channeling her forebears from generations gone by.
The reaction remains largely emotional, with several stating how actually moving it was to see Graceland as a living home and not a museum. One individual “loved seeing the house buzzing with life,” and another regarded it as “beautiful and sincere.” Another witness commented on how “a bond between two time zones of one family” is conveyed, creating a strong link in their minds between the past and present.
However, another drastically opposing view is seen, an Instagram user stating that the haunting video left them with the feeling of lingering, depressed spirits who can’t move on. Nearly 50 years later since that tragic day Elvis passed away, it only goes to show how very deep feelings still run in regard to the whole subject of Graceland. Other commenters started to wonder if that was just another of many maneuvers between Chanel and Graceland; some were quicker to call out a Vanity Fair article that explains the creative vision behind this series.
Perhaps meaning and symbolism may be laid upon the project through her own perspective and relationship to the place. She is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and granddaughter of Elvis. And with the untimely death of her mother in 2023, she came into Graceland. Granted Graceland was functioning as a museum since 1982, but maybe this project is the prelude to reclaiming the Graceland home as a private family residence. One comment simply states that “truly, Keough’s mom and brother Ben would have loved this tribute.”
The making of the film on a creative level seemed to be attuned very much to the spirit of her artistic interests. She recently co-authored a book about her mother and speaks openly about accessing her grief through creative avenues. From a pragmatic perspective, this seemed only a natural extension for Chanel of art as a medium for family legacy. A French commentator Michou Tiburzio applauded Keough for “grasping the daily life of her family” in the visuals, concluding that the end result was “unusually human and emotional.”
Anything about turning Graceland into this kind of place is tragedy for the fans and even for the preservationists. Visitors almost happily commented on seeing the house looking lived-in once again; one even said it was their happy place to go every summer.
While what happens in Chapter II is still up in the air for now, the stir these chapters have created is evidence of the very strength Keough and Chanel have been able to tap into. They birthed the opportunity of something far reaching beyond the usual brand collaboration by mixing haute couture with incredibly private family history. Whatever feelings anyone had about the visuals, I think nearly everyone agreed they were elegantly shot and quite stirring.
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In the process of her embracing the torch from the Presley family, Keough appears to be using this authority to create a different form of public interaction with her grandfather’s legacy. It sort of has this feeling that she is far less interested in putting Elvis’ name in amber and much more interested in how the living progeny question and wrestle with – and through – that difficult inheritance. The fact that the responses are so bruisingly raw proves that, in a way, she has forced people to cast another look onto Graceland.
This story originally appeared on Celebrityinsider
