For the recently unveiled Fall-Winter 2024/25 Ready-To-Wear collection from CHANEL, creative director Virginie Viard looked to the earliest years of the Maison’s storied history for inspiration. Speaking of the collection Viard noted “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.”
Deauville has long been considered one of France’s most prestigious seaside resorts and is home to a famed racetrack as well as luxurious hotels and sumptuous summer villas owned by the French elite. “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,” confides Virginie Viard. It was in Deauville where Chanel first started to make her name in the fashion world and where she continued to return to enjoy the elegant pursuits that would inspire her designs.
With this meaningful sartorial and historical point of reference, Viard has created what I would say to be her best Ready-To-Wear collection for CHANEL to date. With it, she does what she has done best for CHANEL. Honoring the history and codes of the Maison while injecting fresh modernity. With the historical references for this collection, she has honored some of the most beloved of them. Drawing on Gabrielle Chanel’s own wardrobe as well as some of her earliest creations, the collection is that beautiful mix of the feminine and the masculine which is so emblematic of CHANEL. Silhouettes lean toward broad-shouldered peacoats and long dressing-gown-style belted coats worn over tweed suits, with box-pleated skirts, culottes, or cropped trousers, drop-front trousers or trousers with tabs at the back. Chunky sailor sweaters and knits featuring the landscapes of Deauville alternate with silk blouses with middy collars, herringbone prints, low-cut tops with flounces, jumpsuits and negligees whose delicacy evokes gentle waves breaking and a soft wind blowing. The palette takes its vibrant or pastel shades of pink, mauve, orange and pale blue from the ever-changing colours of the Deauville sky, along with brown and gold lamé.
For accessories, the iconic styles of the Maison like the Classic Flap and 2.55 are shown alongside other favorites like the aptly named Deauville. For the Fall-Winter 2024/25 collection this popular style was reimagined in a gorgeous rich camel suede with shearling details that will undoubtably prove to be wildly coveted. For shoes, there are boots done in both knee-high and thigh-high options. However, one of the true standouts from the accessories were the striking over-sized hats that beautifully reference Gabrielle Chanel’s early millinery designs that paired so beautifully with silhouettes that referenced her early garment designs.
For a collection that could have easily veered into the costume realm with its historical reference points, it instead paid a beautiful homage to them instead. I have a feeling this runway success will translate into commercial success once the collection reaches the boutiques on launch day.
