Being one of the highlights of Paris Haute Couture Week, Virginie Viard’s Chanel haute couture Fall/Winter 2021-2022 collection didn’t disapprove. Drawing inspiration from Gabrielle Chanel’s party pictures in the thirties, the collection felt very post-pandemic.
Chanel haute couture Fall/Winter 2021-2022
Chanel’s Virginie Viard stumbled upon a bunch of photos featuring Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel back in the thirties. ‘Coco’ looked like she was partying all night long, wearing a nineteen century gown – evoking a sense of escapism. Exactly that sense of escapism is what we need in today’s world, together with a touch of optimism.
Inspiration
Painting is at the heart of the Chanel Fall-Winter 2021/22 haute couture collection: “It was when I rediscovered these portraits of Gabrielle Chanel dressed up in black or white 1880s-style dresses, that I immediately thought about tableaux,” explains Virginie Viard. “Works by Berthe Morisot, Marie Laurencin and Édouard Manet. There are impressionist-inspired dresses, skirts that look like paintings and a long white satin dress punctuated with black bows like Morisot’s…”
It made perfect sense for this show, bursting with colours, held at the Palais Galliera, City of Paris Fashion Museum, where the exhibition dedicated to Gabrielle Chanel continues. “Because I love seeing colour in the greyness of winter,” continues Virginie Viard. “I really wanted a particularly colourful collection that was very embroidered, something warm.”
Also read: Dior haute couture Fall/Winter 2021 is an ode to Mr. Dior’s heritage
