TRANSFORMING the runway into the Deauville boardwalk, Virginie Viard – Chanel’s creative director – returned to the Maison’s roots for its autumn-winter 2024 ready-to-wear collection. Considered an origin point for the brand, the seaside location is packed full of history and heritage.
“Deauville is where everything started for the House. 1912, the creation of her hat shop and then very quickly the first clothes with their visionary, radical style. It’s where it all began for Gabrielle Chanel. This story is very close to my heart,” explains Viard.
“For this collection, we recreated the Deauville boardwalk. Giant screens on which long, romantic silhouettes stroll in the light from dawn to dusk.”
Maintaining a focus on quintessential Chanel elegance, the collection is overtly androgynous, yet also cinematic. Drawing inspiration from Gabrielle Chanel’s wardrobe, the creative director looked to imbue subtle elements of masculinity throughout the ensemble.
Featuring broad-shouldered pea coats, long dressing-gown style coats layered over tweed suits, box-pleated skirts and drop-front trousers, the collection beautifully combines femininity with structural lines and volumes.
The references to the town of Deauville are further amplified throughout the clothing itself. Chunky sailor sweaters and knits make an appearance – all adorned with landscapes of Deauville. Juxtaposing the textual knit fabrications, silk blouses and low-cut tops add dynamism and movement to the latest seasonal offering.
Utilising a colour palette informed by the ever-changing blanket of Deauville’s sky, models paraded the runway in a series of vibrant and pastel pinks, mauves, oranges, browns, golds and pale blues.
35mm film and cinema ticket prints also arrive to make a connection between the town and the film industry. Hosting its annual American Film Festival, Deauville is famed for its strong ties to celebrities of the acting world.
“The silhouette of David Bowie, the magnetism of film stars walking on the sand, like Anouk Aimée, a great friend of Gabrielle Chanel…this collection pays homage to the familiar figures…It’s a very warm collection, with layers of materials, colours and volumes. It pays tribute to Deauville, the legendary place where Gabrielle Chanel’s destiny changed forever.”
Showcasing oversized pastel-hued wide-brimmed hats, colourful silk scarves, heeled knee-high boots and the Maison’s signature bags, the ensemble’s accessories became a focal point of the presentation. Similarly, thigh-high boots in sheepskin emerge as a nod to Anouk Aimée’s coat in A Man and a Woman.
Sophisticated, luxurious and intimate, Viard’s latest collection for Chanel highlights the ever-impressive allure of the Maison.
by Sophie Richardson