Virginie Viard sends out a spirited and saleable collection.
It all started with a photo of Karl Lagerfeld wearing a striped suit with riding boots. And from that unlikely pairing, Virginie Viard, Creative Director at Chanel, brought a fresh, very French energy to the house where she has worked for 30 years.
“Romanticism – but without any flourishes, and emotions – but without any frills,” said Virginie of a collection significant for playing on the designer’s female side.
The models walked out on a kidney-shaped runway – its curves creating a softening effect, with the floor a mirror image of the glass and iron dome above.
Sisters! There never were such devoted fashion couples, some models holding hands, others just tossing loose hair over coats and jackets.
But the focus was below, as the jodhpur-style trousers (which could be unbuttoned from the thigh or knees) lead down to calf-high boots.
In all those years when Karl had, for each show, often focussed on a particular place – usually where Coco had once visited – I have no memory of a Gabrielle Chanel racehorse called ‘Romantica’. Nor of the late designer in a pair of jodhpurs worn over seven-league boots. The only horsey world in high fashion is surely ‘owned’ by Hermes.
Whatever role Virginie is playing in the house of Chanel, she seems to retain a particular skill in slightly shifting the focus – and turning any new object into a buck. Expect to see a stampede for stockings marked discreetly with the double-C logo.
Tiffanie Darke, Editor in Chief of Harrod’s, was effusive. “I loved the show – fresh, modern and unmistakably Chanel,” she said. “So much to buy – slouchy boots, glittery brooches and perfectly proportioned puff-sleeved blouses.”
The orders will soon be flowing in from the ten million viewers in China provided with a live feed by Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion, Chanel.
With the show on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, the reach will be exceptional.
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Maybe in this hyper-digital world, it was smart of Chanel to choose a reliable designer known throughout the company.
Did Virginie achieve her goal? She succeeded in creating a sporty, fresh and pretty look – apparent in a coral coat or the cut of an open curve to the lower thighs.
But where were the famous gilded CC buttons? They were replaced by lines of un-sparkling press studs – leaving the glitter to imposing jewellery that was occasionally copied boldly on a sweater front.
The designer’s vision is very French, which means a particular neatness in casual clothes. Yet there was still plenty of fashion freedom – a pink skirt scissored from knee to thigh. Evening outfits – including a corset top with trousers – were soft, while frilly white shirts were young and pretty. Each piece seemed infinitely saleable.
So, a year after the loss of Lagerfeld, Chanel’s decision to keep the designer in-house seems to be working pretty well. As Gigi Hadid closed the show in a smart coat, big bra top, short shorts – and those Karl riding boots – the audience erupted with cheers.
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