Last year was tough for Vanessa Paradis, who parted ways from her partner of 14 years and father of her two children Johnny Depp. But it looks like the French singer and actress is putting the split firmly behind her, kicking off 2013 on a positive note as she lands a coveted modelling gig. Retail giant H&M has announced that the 40-year-old star,who has previously fronted both handbag and cosmetics campaigns for Chanel, is the face of its environmentally sustainable clothing range, entitled Conscious collection. The French beauty is the first person to front the line.
In the new campaign shots released by the Swedish brand, the gap-toothed star is seen posing in outfits and accessories made from eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester that ensure style and sustainability go hand-in-hand. A video showing Vanessa behind the scenes while making the campaign film, directed by Johan Renck, has also been released. "I like being part of something like the Conscious collection at H&M," Vanessa said. "I try my best to shop consciously, and vintage is very much part of my wardrobe. I love the style and it works in an eco-friendly way because I like to use and reuse old clothes." To coincide with the spring/summer 2013 campaign, H&M are also set to launch an in-store garment collecting service. For every bag of unwanted clothing they take into H&M stores, customers will released a H&M voucher.
The initiative aims to prevent clothing going into landfill sites. Clothing can be from any label, but customers are limited to handing in two bags per day. The collection fronted by Vanessa will be available at H&M stores worldwide and online from March. After months of denials, in June of last year a publicist for actor Johnny Depp said in a statement that he had "amicably separated" from his partner and that they both requested privacy. There were numerous reports that the pair have been living separate lives for a while - though the Hollywood actor denied they had split at the unveiling of Tim Burton's film Dark Shadows in May. Vanessa had also dismissed the reports as "rumours" during radio and TV appearances. What was thought to be a rock solid romance began to unravel with their recent relocation to LA. After years spent bringing up their young family in France away from the limelight, they had moved to Tinseltown and enrolled their two children, nine-year-old, Jack, and 13-year-old daughter, Lily Rose in school.
"They bet that things would continue there as they had in the south of France. They lost that bet," a friend said. "She went seven years between albums and films, while he became Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates films." Johnny, 49, and 39-year-old Vanessa met in 1998 but never married.