Chanel's camellias, empty chairs close Paris Fashion Week
PARIS (AP) – Colossal camellias served as the ready-to-wear altarpiece for Chanel’s sparkling, bloom-inspired fall display.
Meanwhile, Miuccia Prada’s baby sister brand Miu Miu — another headline show on the last day of Paris Fashion Week — presented a study in off-kilter creativity.
Here are some glimpses of the Fall-Winter 2023-24 collection:
channel camellia
It was the flower that launched a thousand designs. Legend has it that the camellia first became an obsession of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel in 1913, when she tied one to her belt, seduced by its “simplicity, shape, purity and vitality.” More than a century later, the winter flower still takes center stage.
Creative director Virginie Viard said, “Camellia is more than a theme, it’s an eternal code.” “I love the softness of it and the strength of it.”
As always, there was a restraint in Wired’s design aesthetic, for example in its use of a limited palette of white, shadowy black and pink. Camellias were also treated rigorously, adorning pockets, buttons and jackets, prints or leather shoes.
But the ubiquitous sparkle of sequins and plays in shape — slits in gowns, swoops of diagonal fabric on asymmetrical coats and skirts — gave the collection momentum.
Wired also dealt in men’s styles with British dressing gowns such as menswear jackets and dandies.
Wired said, “Faded colors, dusky pinks, sculpted pieces, touches of the 1960s and 70s, a decidedly English vibe, cozy envelope coats, authentic materials, make the collection more real and even more edgy.”
Penelope Cruz on Lagerfeld
Penelope Cruz revisits her memories of the late designer Karl Lagerfeld after her Chanel show.
At a 1999 Vanity Fair party, Lagerfeld and current designer Weird were discussing the actress becoming a Chanel ambassador. It was meant to be a secret.
Cruz said, “Karl and Virginie were speaking in French and they thought I didn’t understand.” And they were talking about becoming an ambassador for my brand. But I understood everything, pretending I wasn’t, and I was looking in a different place, ”said Cruz. “They gave me the great ‘news’ shortly thereafter!”
Cruz spoke fondly of the home, which feels “like a family,” the design and magic of which she also dreamed of as a young girl growing up in Spain.
The Oscar winner also talked about Viard’s cheeky cheeky style. Tuesday’s fall-winter set is based on the 1966 film “Who Are You, Polly Magoo?” was based on. A satirical French spoof about runway exaggeration and the excesses of the fashion industry.
“But of course, Virginie has a sense of humor,” Cruz said. “You have to be brave to mix certain materials and colors. Have fun.”
Miu Miu’s Disruptions
Around 50 screens lining the walls and columns of the Palais d’Ina in the Miu Miu show showed scenes from the set construction, next to white tube lighting and a white corrugated iron backdrop.
The program notes came with a text by Korean artist Geumhyung Jeong: “There is a codependency, but in the end, the machines don’t need us. We need them.”
The theme’s link to the decor of the off-kilter fashion display was obscure to some, but Prada wanted to challenge the set rules of dressing.
Knickers peeked out from under a brown leather mini-dress, cut so short they weren’t really underwear. The appliqués on a light silk umber gown were so heavy that they structured the dress rather than contrasted it. The three-dimensional flowers that adorned the top were intentionally hidden by a green cardigan.
The fashion twist impressed Prada’s guests, including Alexa Chung.
strike, darling
The back-to-back runways of Paris Fashion Week are frantic. Private cars block up, traffic jams and hordes of photographers make it difficult to navigate the sidewalks around the show venues.
As a result, the other challenges of living in the French capital often go unnoticed or unnoticed without going online.
The front row seats at Miu Miu are empty because of a workers’ strike across France on Tuesday. The channel, which in the previous season had stopped VIP guests arriving a few minutes late, started its shows late.
Both likely resulted in limited transportation options, as several Paris Métro lines were closed for the day. Many top editors left the city on Monday or early Tuesday to escape the chaos of strikes launched in protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reforms, according to front row chatter.
Eva Chen, Head of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram, was one such early lever. Chen posted videos and photos of trying to reach Charles de Gaulle airport, including people walking on the highway due to protests blocking traffic around the airport.
