Inside Actress Valerie Pachner’s Chanel Dinner at the Toronto Film Festival

Austrian actress Valerie Pachner had a jam-packed Toronto Film Festival this weekend. Her latest project, A Hidden Life—directed by Terrence Malick and costarring August Diehl—had its North American premiere (the film is a WWII drama centered around Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis during that time period). Pachner also attended a special dinner with Chanel and Variety on Saturday at La Banane, in celebration of female filmmakers. But even in the midst of these star-studded events, she felt completely at ease. “I feel like there is a certain relaxed atmosphere in Toronto, and that spreads over into the festival,” Pachner said. “Yet there is so much going on—that makes a great mix!”

Ahead of her fashionable dinner, Pachner captured her getting-ready process exclusively for Vogue. The look for the night began with initial fittings. “I always have those moments with Chanel, where I try a dress on and it just makes [me go] whoop!—and it fits,” Pachner said. “I had that with this dress, too.” Her special frock for the TIFF event was an asymmetrical column gown with colorful beading work, complete with a ribbon-tied detail at the shoulder. “I love the graphic and asymmetric style it has,” she said.

Working with Chanel was the perfect choice for Pachner, who is not only a fan of the house’s signature refinement, but the label’s core ethos too. “What I love about the brand is its vision of women. It doesn’t want them to be femme objects—it wants women who are female yet who stand their ground; who are subjects, not objects,” she said. “And there seems to be a certain consistency in the brand’s path. It stays true to itself, without making a big deal out of it. I love that.” This spirit certainly aligned with the theme of the night, which aimed to celebrate female directors, actors, and more who have made an impact this year.

A few hours before the dinner, Pachner’s glamming session began with the help of makeup artist Jamie Greenberg and hairstylist Matthew Collins. Then it was time to slip on her glitzy gown of choice—something Pachner says is becoming an intuitive choice for her, as she is constantly attending more red carpet events and learning what works best for her. “It’s funny that, just like with my acting, I also dress very intuitively, even when it’s for the red carpet,” she said. “I always need this ‘that’s it!’ moment during a fitting. And then I go with it, without overthinking it too much. I had that with the Chanel dress I wore for the premiere in Cannes.”

The dress in question for A Hidden Life’s Cannes premiere? It was a tiered column with netting and crystal embellishment, from the label’s Pre-Fall 2019 collectsion. “There is a certain ambiguity to it, when a dress doesn’t force a woman into a specific direction, but unfolds all the layers of her personality,” Pachner said. Clearly the actress is on a winning style streak.

Below, see Pachner’s photo diary from TIFF.