by The Chanel show opened with a short but glossy black-and-white film starring Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz as lovers on a tryst (not so good when you say minibreak) in Deauville, northern France that was – fashionable. coastal town where Coco Chanel launched her first store in 1912.
Whether or not this situation strikes you as the last word in romantic glamor depends a lot on how you feel about Pitt and Cruz. Also, are the two suggesting the 20-something waitress join them for some fun and games? And are we wise to care?
The audience booed him, though that may have been partly because housemate Cruz was in the front row, along with Vanessa Paradis, Margaret Qualley and Charlotte Casiraghi.
What’s interesting is that while many brands spend a lot of energy on Gen Z TikTok icons you’ve never heard of or elderly legends who don’t wear their clothes in real life, Pitt and Cruz fall into neither. group. In the middle of life, and looking great, there was something very French and rather heartwarming about his exotic story.
Chanel, like Hermès, is one of those houses that isn’t interested in marketing the way other brands feel they need to. As Karl Lagerfeld discovered in his 30 years as head of Chanel, its founder, Coco Chanel, has a backstory that keeps on giving. Mine those archives with a lot of creativity and finesse, and the customers will keep coming.
These are precisely the tactics adopted by Virginie Viard, the current creative director of Chanel, for autumn/winter 2024. Against huge screens showing shadowy figures on the beach of Deauville, models walked the runways in large-rimmed straw hats , and slim maxi coats – blurred outline. reminiscent of the former Belle Époque era when Coco just progressed.
Viard made it look modern and wearable, throwing in some early David Bowie silhouettes and mixing them with beautiful tactile wools and spring lace. It does not have the oversized proportions that are popular elsewhere. Instead their skirts flare slightly below the knee or mid-calf.
Trousers are long, but not excessively so, or they hang above the ankle. Knitwear is very smart: three-piece knit gilets, skirts and cardigans, shimmery for the evening, or boyish cardigans with contrast trim with matching wide trousers. Very Coco circa 1920. But then, as anyone who saw Fashion Manifestoas the V&A’s Chanel exhibition can testify, so much of what Chanel designed is still relevant.
Knee boots are worn with most of the outfits, be it platform or correspondent. The latter even made the models’ legs look a little chunky, but for the most part this was a balanced, coherent collection, complete with once-in-a-lifetime buys like the pea coats, herringbone print silks and matching jackets and waistcoats. Belts came with almost everything – some narrow with a bow buckle. As for that cash cow, the Chanel bag, classic as ever (no gimmicky new styles this time) – it adds a pop of color to many looks, and elsewhere it’s matched with coats rather than shoes.
Viard isn’t always reliable, but with this manly, masculine show, she seemed to know exactly where she was going.
Miu Miu
If you need coat or suit inspiration, Miuccia Prada has strong, shorter options at Miu Miu, where Kristin Scott Thomas, who quickly found a parallel career as a fashion muse, was on the scene, along with Qin Huilan, 70 age. -year-old Shanghai-based doctor with a penchant for Miu Miu and Prada. According to Huilan’s own Instagram account, she only recently signed up for the app, after her son showed her how. She started posting pictures of herself in her favorite outfits – and just like that, Miu Miu invited her to be in the show.
Here, the blazers are narrow-waisted but wide in the shoulders, and the fabrics are more structured – gray flannel rather than Chanel’s soft tweeds.
But unusually, both houses found a lot of common ground. Both have the skirt suit back. Miu Miu comes in bright lime or purple colors as well as gray. The knits are as smart as can be – Miu Miu’s black-breasted tailored cardigan would take you anywhere. Knee-length prom skirts with clusters of large floral prints are accented with lace-up boots and bomber jackets.
Usually, Miuccia Prada loves to subvert the classics but there was not much subversion going on here, unless you count the orange, cerulean or Kelly green tights, which can also be seen on the other catwalks. Perhaps she finds the old standards comforting these days.
Faux fur jackets and ankle length coats are served up as the new status symbol in the same way that real fur once was. Revive Audrey Herpburn’s boat neck little black dress (complete with elbow length black gloves) in a straight replay.
Scott Thomas and Qin wore gray coats: Qin’s coat was fitted, double-breasted, decorated with silver flowers; KST is a darker charcoal, unstructured, with a single placement of silver flecks. The micro message: coats come in many styles these days; focus on quality rather than whether it is “on trend”. The macro: the style has no age limits.
More from the shows…
