Chanel Just Recreated Its Iconic 1990s Vanessa Paradis Advert At Its SS25 Show
Throughout Paris Fashion Week, Chanel was the name on everyone’s lips: Who is going to be the next creative director?
Since June, when Virginie Viard exited the brand, speculation has been mounting around who will take over, and, by the time the Paris shows rolled around, fashion’s rumour mill had gone into overdrive (Hedi Slimane! Simon Porte Jacquemus! Pieter Mullier! Jonathan Anderson!). At the end of the show season, we’re still none the wiser as to who will nab the most coveted top job in the industry. And, on Tuesday, Chanel demonstrated the show would most certainly go on, whether they had a creative director or not.
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For the first time in four years, the house returned to Le Grand Palais venue, installing a giant white birdcage to anchor the sprawling space. As Chanel-clad clients and celebrities filed in to take their seats, they were met with a quote from Gabrielle Chanel on each chair: ‘People have always wanted to put me in cages: cages with cushions stuffed with promises, gilded cages, cages that I’ve touched looking away from,’ it read. ‘I never wanted any other than the one I would build myself.’
The brand later explained the collection was ‘a tribute to women who freed themselves from the cumbersome gaze of society, just like Gabrielle Chanel’: during this period of creative transition, freedom — delicacy, lightness and movement — would be design focal point.
These ideas were imagined using Chanel’s most recognisable house signatures, in a collection designed by its creative studio: tweed sets were designed with shorts, while skirts had slits that flashed a little more leg than usual; little black dresses had ornate cage skirts, which showcased the body’s silhouette beneath. Elsewhere, candy-coloured knits and tweeds were finished with the camélia flower; while aviator jumpsuits and heavily embellished denim were peppered in amongst the offering.
There were some bohemian undertones to the collection, too, with ruffled silks printed with colourful feathers, chiffon capes and sheer button-down shirt dresses styled with low slung belts. Most looks were paired with mega-platforms, ranging from lace-up brogues to disco-sandals covered in mirrors.
The show culminated in a surprise performance from the house’s new brand ambassador Riley Keough, who sang a rendition of Prince's ‘When Doves Cry’ from a swing inside the birdcage as models draped themselves against the structure for the big finale, recreating a early 1990s Chanel advert starring Vanessa Paradis. It was a reminder that, at the end of the day, Chanel knows its rich and storied history is ultimately much bigger than any starry designer name that might take the helm. That, and, creative director or not, the house will always put on a spectacle to remember.
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