This was Chanel’s 18th Métiers d’Art show, a catwalk spectacle that takes place every December. It was designer Virginie Viard’s 18th Métiers d’Art show too - so, familiar ground.
However, this was Viard’s first as sole creative director of the multi-billion-pound fashion powerhouse, taking the reins after Karl Lagerfeld’s passing.
While Lagerfeld was known for grand theatrics (shipping a 265 ton iceberg to Paris for the winter 2010 show being one example), and gimmicks (kitsch doll-shaped and hula hoop-handle handbags), Viard’s Chanel is quieter. It’s the realist indie-film to Lagerfeld’s big action blockbuster. On the surface, that is.
For her first solo Métiers d’Art show, Viard brought-in the blockbuster talent, collaborating with Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette director, Sofia Coppola to recreate Coco Chanel’s original salon, on rue Cambon in Paris. The all-star model line-up was there too, with Gigi Hadid, and Kaia Gerber.
But this Chanel feels new - despite Viard’s history, and the centuries old craft employed by Chanel-owned ateliers, specialising in embroidery, feathers, millinery, and shoes. It looks easy to wear, and carries the ‘easy’ swagger of typically French style; it’s classic pieces styled for everyday life, with front-facing patch-pockets on trousers, shoulder-robing coats, and simple (but no doubt fancily crafted) t-shirts.
The Karlisms are intact, but muted, with prop-like accessories, like birdcage bags and perfume bottle necklaces, paying homage to the playful style of the late creative director.
Viard is a master of monochrome though, clearly, with just a few bright made-for-the-red-carpet style dresses, sandwiched between successive black and white twin-sets and outerwear. (Which felt modern, with bras swapped for stacked chains, micro-bags, and heavy-metal cuffs to offset anything erring on seriously bougie.)
If you’re tempted by the sexy-cardi look, that’s the pro-tip: swap the layers and a bra for layered jewellery (looking at you, Gigi).
Whatever Viard is doing, it feels grounded in reality, in a way you can’t help but put down to her being… a woman. It feels like Chanel, too. It’s surely no mean feat to make the craft that the Métiers d’Art show is intended to showcase, and the steering of a multi-billion dollar brand, look breezy. But then Viard is French. They’re good at that. (And, according to Chanel president, Bruno Pavlovsky, Viard’s first collection, in stores now, is one of its most successful yet.)
