The ultimate luxury for 2021? A joyful family celebration. That is what we want above all else this season, according to Chanel ’s Virginie Viard.
Since luxury fashion is definitely ultimately about what is aspirational – and with blockbuster catwalk shows being off the credit cards for the foreseeable – Viard put up a marquee, put fairy lights between flower arbours, scattered petals on the ground and staged her springtime haute couture collection as being a family reunion.
“I knew we could not organise a big show. therefore i came up with the idea of a small cortège that would come down the stairways of the Grand Palais plus pass between arches associated with flowers. Like a family special event, or a wedding, ” mentioned Viard before the show.
The organza and ribbons dresses typical of fashion were worn with sun glasses and flower crowns, as though for a festival, and the disposition was a little more casual compared to couture’s usual air associated with haughty perfection. Vanessa Paradis and Penelope Cruz kicked back in vintage Chanel through seasons gone by. Linda Ronstadt’s Be My Infant soundtracked the show along with honeyed sentiment.
Chanel’s film and the lp of family portraits launched with it were shot simply by Anton Corbijn, the director associated with the Ian Curtis biopic Control plus mastermind of visual identification for bands including Depeche Mode and U2.
The Italian luxurious house Valentino worked with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, who produced a “collagist” film in order to accompany a collection reveal that was staged in the baroque beauty of Palazzo Colonna within Rome. Taffeta ballgowns had been worn with stripes of recent Romantic face paint plus Ziggy Stardust platform shoes or boots.
Along with audiences forbidden and the supermodels and front-row celebrities whom drive engagement grounded, style brands are on a large learning curve. The most raised couture houses need to contend with ocean shanties plus Rabbit the Talking Dog , if they are to get eyeballs upon TikTok and Instagram. Because of this the rarified world associated with haute couture is having a good MTV makeover.
Replacing catwalk with video clip is “like making a movie instead of doing theatre”, mentioned Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s chief executive of fashion, in a Move call. “With a catwalk show, Virginie [Viard] and the models have the energy of 2, 500 people in the room – you can’t get that when the particular audience is just a few digital cameras. ” He believes Chanel’s next show, in Mar, is likely to be digital-only but is definitely hopeful that a show prepared for Provence in early Might could take place in front of the audience. “For now all of us plan for both scenarios, ” he said.
Chanel takes up a quasi-official place in France public life. As a bastion of excellence in fashion, these are an informal “department of chic”. Couture orders have been terribly hit by the logistical problems of the past year, along with most clients unable to visit Paris for the fittings within the atelier that are integral towards the process, but any show-must-go-on instincts must yield towards the greater good.
“Values are extremely important to Chanel. This is bigger than fashion. We all understand that and we respect all the rules and constraints, ” said Pavlovsky. He additional that none of the purchases for gowns placed designed for 2021 had been cancelled up to now, despite the absence of events so they can be worn to. “These clients are not easily defer. They will always want well-known Chanel. ”
