We're Entering Chanel's Post-Virginie Viard Era
Virginie Viard's unexpected departure from Chanel — after three decades at the company (five as creative director), plus weeks after presenting a collection and being praised by executives for bringing in record revenue — caused a shock wave among the fashion crowd. It doesn't help that the privately-owned house still hasn't named her replacement (though, there are rumors), inviting onlookers to continue gossiping and speculating. That isn't stopping it from marching forward, into its post-Viard future.
On Tuesday, Chanel hosted its Haute Couture Fall 2024 runway. This would've been the last collection Viard worked on, though the press release credits an in-house design team as the mind(s) behind it. Still, the front row was packed with longtime friends of the brand — a sign of effort towards continuity.
This season, the inspiration came from the location of the show: the Palais Garnier. The opulence and theatricality of the historic space informs striking design elements (feathered sleeves and floor-grazing capes), adding a level of drama befitting the venue. "Richly embroidered, the collection imbues the House codes with a romantic twist," the show notes read. "A Chanel suit with box pleats revisited in burgundy tweed trimmed with white satin, a black corduroy tuxedo and a white blouse with an embroidered plastron, a black suit with a long culotte and a short, fitted jacket with shoulders swathed in black feathers, dance among long coats, voluminous capes and evening gowns, evoking a modernized stage tradition and a certain science of pageantry."
Of course, Chanel codes (see: tweed, beading, tulle) are ever-present, but they're modernized through silhouette and shape, in a fashion that can't help but hint at what the French house hopes to achieve down the line. Viard often went so retrospective with her designs, it left a desire for bigger risks — while the Haute Couture Fall 2024 collection is far from the most experimental we've seen on the runway, it does leave us intrigued for what could come next.
See the full Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024 collection below.
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
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