NOTHING was going to stop Virginie Viard from throwing the most glamorous wedding of spring 2021. Not her own, mind you. Rather, Chanel’s latest dazzling haute couture collection which was unveiled via a runway film-cum-nuptials at Paris’ spectacular Grand Palais.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
With initial plans to hold two shows for 300 guests each at the expansive venue scuppered due to Covid-19 restrictions, Viard instead opted to make her SS21 couture offering a solely digital affair.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
Shot by Dutch photographer and filmmaker, Anton Corbijn, the film plays out as an idyllic ceremony in the south of France. Held as a celebration of the family-like bond that exists between the Maison, its ateliers and its clients, the setting was adorned with romantic camellia flower garlands and decorative bridal arches, with models parading down the Grand Palais’ stairs in a host of dreamy Viard signatures.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
Evening party dresses in swirling pastel shades were fantastically volumized by tiers of flounced crêpe georgette and petticoats – each design accompanied by a ruffled bolero and double-strap Mary-Jane shoes in the style of those worn by tango dancers, or booties with wedge heels decorated with fine golden embellishment.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
A long, tulle dress in a soft pearl-grey featured embroidered macramé by the Montex Atelier, while delicate feathers by the House of Lemarié adorned the organza flounces of a little black dress in tweed.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
As the habitual grand finale, the Chanel bride, as if plucked straight out of a fantasy novel, appeared on the back of a white horse in a flowing, wing-collared satin dress, embroidered by Lesage with dainty strass and pearl butterflies.
Chanel Haute Couture SS21
With family and companionship at its core, Viard’s latest haute couture offering was a perfectly-executed expression of the characteristic spirit of Chanel; pure escapism at its best.
And, with the world still firmly in the grasp of the ongoing pandemic, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
by Joshua Hendren