“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. On the racecourse, on the seaside, at the gaming table, in restaurants and palaces, on the “Planches” boardwalk: everything is about elegance and self-staging.
“For this collection, we recreated the Deauville boardwalk, she adds. Giant screens on which long, romantic silhouettes stroll in the light from dawn to dusk.” Shrouded in mystery, the models walk along the beach. The 1920s and 70s cross paths and intertwine.
Androgynous and cinematic, the CHANEL Fall-Winter 2024/25 Ready-to-Wear collection imagined by Virginie Viard draws its femininity from Gabrielle Chanel’s own wardrobe and its masculinity from the subtle elegance of winter sojourns by the sea. Broad shouldered peacoats and long dressing-gown style belted coats are worn over tweed suits – 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 everchanging colours of the Deauville sky, along with brown and gold lamé. 35mm film and cinema tickets: prints refer to the town’s connection with the 7th art, its American Film Festival and Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman, to which Inez and Vinoodh’s film opening the show pays tribute.
“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 these familiar figures.”
The iconic bags are omnipresent, as are the pastel-hued wide-brimmed hats, colourful silk scarves, heeled knee-high boots and thigh-high boots in sheepskin, a direct nod to Anouk Aimée’s coat in A Man and a Woman.
“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.”
