Chanel Takes Haute Couture to the Quai for Fall 2023
Chanel is a house of tradition: It's built on certain codes that it reiterates and reinterprets season after season; it takes great pride on its heritage, seizing every opportunity it can to honor it. But every so often, even a brand like this can switch things up.
On Tuesday, Chanel eschewed its preferred fashion show venue, the Grand Palais (or, while that gets renovated, the Grand Palais Éphémère), for the literal Right Bank to host its Fall 2023 Haute Couture debut. With rows of seats on one side of the runway and the Seine on the other — and the Eiffel Tower creating a dramatic backdrop — Virginie Viard presented a collection "inspired by a Parisian allure." Specifically, she drew from the city's specific flavor of "delicate yet bold femininity," focusing on sharply tailored silhouettes that borrow from menswear, that are then offset by delicate, ephemeral accoutrements, like a sheer tulle underskirt or a fine floral embroidery that reveals itself as you look closer.
The house doubles down on the Parisian-ness with an accompanying film by Karim Sadli, starring longtime brand ambassador and French fashion icon Vanessa Paradis.
As much as people chatter about Chanel online, the brand's doing exceptionally well: It recorded $17.2 billion in revenue in 2022, up 17%, from the year prior. Even with price increases, its customers aren't feeling deterred. The company doesn't break down its financials by category (though, it did highlight leather goods and shoes as big performers in 2022), but Viard excels in her outerwear propositions: structured, streamlined jackets that transcend seasons and collections, which are simultaneously meant to live forever and can also be infinitely refreshed with flairs or cuts, should the client crave something new.
What makes it haute couture — the highest caliber of craftsmanship in the industry — are those finishing touches that can only be achieved by a precise, highly trained hand, and that allow you to zoom in on any given look and discover a whole story in a single garment, as told by the paillettes, the rows of sequins on tweed, the beaded florals on lace. Then, of course, there's the bride: This season, it's Hyunji Shin in a creamy white, tea-length dress with a tulle overlay, bow-accented collar and veil, closing out the show.
See the full Chanel Fall 2023 Haute Couture collection, below.
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