About the Show and Virginie Viard
We can finally see a distinctive Haute Couture style in the show by Virginie Viard in this collection. Since she took over after legendary Karl Lagerfeld, her shows have been considered conservative, especially in contrast with her predecessor. It was not clear if that was due to pandemic as majority of the period that she has been on the job fell into the period of covid restrictions. Now as fashion shows are coming back to life, we can appreciate Virgine’s vision in full.
I have mentioned when reviewing the Spring Summer Haute Couture Collection that Virginie has added maternal and feminine touch to the Fashion House. This collection has strengthened my view on this. Extravagant and adventurous Lagerfeld was bringing boisterous energy to many of his shows and it is nice to see that despite working so closely with him for 30 years, Virginie has her own vision. Although it is not yet clear if Virginie Viard will stay with Chanel for long term like Karl Lagerfeld, she has certainly made a strong start and established herself as a great replacement of Creative Director of Chanel.
The show took place at the Palais Galliera in Paris, a modern fashion museum in Neo-Renaissance architecture which complimented the theme of the collection very well.
This collection is a true celebration of femininity and art. Although it is a fall winter collection, it has spring vibes to it, with white background and bright daylight and plenty of flowery and bright looks. I believe this is symbolizing the come back of fashion shows and a new breath after all the lockdowns and restrictions.
“Because I love seeing color in the greyness of winter,” she continued, “I really wanted a particularly colorful collection that was very embroidered, something warm.” said Virginie Viard.
Another source of inspiration for the show was a series of photographs of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel dressed in 19th-century bustles and crinolines in high society style. This was also coming from the post lockdown nostalgia for the luxury events and gatherings.
Virginie Viard has also been in touch with several impressionist artists, including Marie Laurencin, the expert in Jazz Age Paris, an author of many beautiful artworks, including the portrait of the young Coco Chanel.
The Collection
- The start of the show was really special – it is always good to see a bright and highly crafted first look which will give an idea of what to expect from the rest of the collection. Feathered maxi tea length pink skirt teamed up with an oversize tweed jacket was a perfect sneak peak to the beautifully crafted collection.
- The colors of the collections were inspired by French impressionist paintings and garden flowers. Brushstroke technique of the French impressionist art was one of the inspiration sources.
- The traditional tweeds came to life, embedded with hand embroidered sparkling details and fun colors.
- The dresses with layers of elegant tulle looked exquisite.
Craftsmanship :
Virginie Viard highlighted the most delicately crafted looks from the collection: “There are dresses embroidered with water lilies, a jacket in a black tweed crafted from feathers with red and pink flowers,”
There was a lot of inspiration from the artworks in smallest details, which is what makes Haute Couture so unique. The buttons were mimicking artist’s palettes or Monet nympheas, mosaics of colored rhinestones. The feathered blossoms showing from under the hats were also floral impressionist artowork inspired.
Some of the looks from this collection, such as gardenia embroidered cardigan jacket that was made of feather strands took 2000 hours of handwork. despite being so much worked on, the pieces look very light in combination with light fabrics like silk, chiffon and tule.
- Cream pantsuits and rock – n roll inspired hairstyles blended in really well with the floral romantic style of the collection and made it more diverse.
- The final looks of the show, just as the opening look was very special. In the best haute couture traditions, the final bridal look was playfully played by Margaret Qualley and was a tribute to Madame Coco Chanel. The dress was in 1930s pre-WW2 era style with a pillbox hat with a colorful sequined veil. A similar one was worn by Gabrielle Chanelle herself.
Photo by: Alessandro Lucioni
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