Presented last week, the CHANEL Fall-Winter 22-23 RTW collection was a celebration of one of the House’s most beloved codes: tweed. So intrinsically linked to the heritage and image of the House, tweed is at the very core of the CHANEL universe. Few fashion houses can claim such a strong link to one single fabric. Gabrielle Chanel started incorporating tweed into her designs in the 1920s. Her life-long love affair with tweed stemmed from another passionate love affair. Having borrowed tweed jackets from her beau, the Duke of Westminster, while exploring the Scottish Highlands Chanel discovered the supple and simple elegance of tweed. Virginie Viard notes, “There’s nothing sexier than wearing the clothes of the person you love…Of course, I’m fascinated by this ever-contemporary gesture. And it’s CHANEL that renders the tweed feminine.”
Chanel enlisted a Scottish factory to produce the material that she utilized for her designs. She would eventually shift production to a French factory and would incorporate wool, cotton, and silks into the tweed to lend a luxurious and high-fashion feel to the fabric. The CHANEL tweed pieces became emblematic of the House and have remained pillars of the House’s collections ever since. There are few pieces more coveted in the fashion world than a CHANEL tweed blazer.
“Devoting the entire collection to tweed is a tribute,” says Virginie Viard. “We followed the footsteps of Gabrielle Chanel along the River Tweed, to imagine tweeds in the colours of this landscape. Like that of a long pink coat mottled with blue and purple, or a burgundy suit with a delicate gold shimmer. This is what Gabrielle Chanel would do on her walks through the Scottish countryside: she would gather ferns and bouquets of flowers to inspire the local artisans for the tones she wanted.”
The CHANEL Fall-Winter 22-23 RTW collection also incorporates a nod to the mod styling of England in the 1960s. Bold colours are reminiscent of the record covers utilized by the bands emerging for the burgeoning rock-n-roll scene of the 60s. The overall feel of the collection is youthfully optimistic, and just a little bit cheeky. Think a young woman down from her family’s Scottish estate immersing herself in the colourful music, art, and fashion scene of the exuberant post-war Swinging London.
To see more Runway Report coverage, click {here}
