Writer Grace O’Neill shares her observation that the word “collaboration” is the word that comes up most often in her interview with Oscar-winning Tilda Swinton, who covers the November 2022 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Australia and New Zealand.

Jerry Stafford styles Swinton in Chanel Haute Couture in ‘Down the Garden Path’, lensed by Sølve Sundsbø [IG] ./ Hair by Ali Pirzaden; makeup by Chiao Li Hsu

In a personal observation, O’Neill continues her summation of the actor, saying:

Rather than chase clout, paychecks or awards, Swinton seeks kindred creative spirits, and when she finds them, she works with them again and again. It’s a fact that jumps out immediately when you look at the directors who appear in her filmography: she has done four films apiece with Jim Jarmusch, Luca Guadagnino and Wes Anderson, with another one for the latter currently in post-production.

Collaboration and Seeking a Simple Life

This self-affacing preference for collaboration began when the very shy Tilda Swinton distanced herself from writer’s block by joining “the creative hub of student directors, performers and playwrights’ at the University of Cambridge in England.” “I think it was a way of sustaining my writing as a kind of submerged, secret authorship,” Tilton muses.

The high-regarded Hollywood heavyweight prefers the simple life she lives in the Scottish Highlands with her lng-term partner, artist Sandro Kopp and five spaniel dogs. Her children — twins Honor and Xaver with former husband artist John Byrne, are at university close-by.

For such a talented, credentialed and highly-regarded creative, Tilton’s goals have always been limited. O’Neill writes:

Last year, she told The Guardian her childhood ambition “was about having a house by the sea, a kitchen garden, children, some dogs and lots of friends”. The idea of a “career”, the kind that is meticulously stage-managed and public relations-ed, is anathema to her. “I have never been invested in the concept of a career,” she says. “My interest has always been, and continues to be in, in the leading of a life.” She jokingly quotes from Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita: “I’m too serious to be a dilettante and too much of a dabbler to be a professional.” What she means is, she could have just as likely opened a wool shop or a collective farm as be an actor.

Swinton and Chanel

Tilda Swinton’s relationship with Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld dates back to 1992, when Karl Lagerfeld photographed Swinton for a shoot promoting ‘Orlando’, Sally Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s iconic novel. 20 years later, Swinton returned the favor by appearing in Chanel’s Paris-Edinburgh campaign.

“I’ve been proud to fly the house flag ever since,” the actor says, with lavish and passionate commentary about the brand’s commitment to supporting the creative arts. That commitment includes the Chanel Next Prize, which provides emerging artists with funding, mentorship and networking opportunities.

“I am fully admiring of Chanel for taking their role as patron of the arts as seriously as they do,” Swinton says, while noting that Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was very much a fixture of the experimental art scene during her own life.

It’s Chanel that has brought Tilda Swinton to Australia in this moment, where she will co-host a dinner celebrating the local film industry. A forum for Australian film students is also on her agenda because at Chanel “we’re hoping to foster creative community and new generations of fellowship,” she explains.