The Stars Got Candid at the Chanel & Tribeca Festival’s Women’s Luncheon

On a sunny June 7 afternoon in New York City, Selma Blair attended Chanel’s annual Through Her Lens luncheon with her service dog, Scout, in tow. The star, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018, cut a stylish figure in a white tee and floral shorts with a black quilted Chanel clutch that was coordinated with Scout’s leash. “Here, you can hold him!” Blair told me, handing over the lead while she did interviews with other members of the press on the carpet.

For all its star power and glamour, the yearly luncheon—which celebrates the Tribeca Festival and Chanel’s women’s filmmaker program, Through Her Lens—always bears a warm, friendly vibe. For Katie Holmes, that energy mirrors the mission statement of the Through Her Lens initiative—which is to provide resources and mentorship to up-and-coming filmmakers. “That’s what I love about Chanel really putting their money [in] investing in our future,” she told W before stepping into the dining room for lunch. “What is most important about today is actually about the intelligence of women and passing on and fostering storytelling. We’re so lucky to be here, it’s a room full of really powerful women.”

Indeed, the leafy courtyard at the Greenwich Hotel was brimming with A-listers: Kerry Washington and Juliana Canfield embraced one another warmly, while Camila Mendes, Kathryn Newton, and Louisa Jacobson threw up peace signs in photos together. Christy Turlington, Katie Holmes, Rachel Weisz, Jenny Slate, and Chase Sui Wonders were also in attendance (the latter’s pixie haircut prompted squeals of delight from the actor’s friends who hadn’t seen her new ‘do yet).

Dianna Agron, who said she has been working on two secret projects that have her feeling “creatively activated right now,” identified a vintage Chanel wallet as her first major fashion purchase. “I was on tour with Glee, and we were at this vintage store in Boston,” she recalled. “I thought it was very chic. And it was.” Going back even further, Agron shared her fashion sensibility as a teenager: “It was really a baggy jean, a fitted tank top, a Skechers boot, going to concerts like Green Day and Limp Bizkit and Blink-182,” she said. “And Gwen Stefani in No Doubt back in the day.”

For her part, Washington’s teenage style was “nonconformist,” the Unprisoned actress and producer said. “I wore a jean jacket to my prom, I designed my prom dress,” she added. “A woman that lived in my grandmother’s building was this beautiful, amazing seamstress from Egypt. She made it for me. When I put that jean jacket on over it, my mom was like, ‘You’ve ruined the look.’ And I was like, ‘No, I’ve perfected it.’”

The Scandal star’s black-and-pink Chanel tweed skirt seemed to nod to the businesswoman style of her character, Olivia Pope (as did the boardroom-ready bob hairstyle). Her former costar, Tony Goldwyn—who played the President of the United States in the groundbreaking ABC series—recently mentioned in an interview that he’s been “needling” Washington to get on an episode of Law & Order, his current gig. Would she ever consider it?

“I would go anywhere that Tony Goldwyn tells me to,” Washington said with a laugh. “So anything’s possible. I’ve been on, like, four different episodes of Law and Order, being a New York actor. It’s been too long. I should probably get back on there.”