CHANEL Bids Farewell to the Impresario and says Hello to the Opera!
Greek American soprano Maria Callas once said, “An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down.” Her idea affirms that the baroque Palais Garnier was an apt venue for CHANEL’s first runway show following the unexpected announcement of Virginie Viard’s departure. Viard, who had been with the French luxury house for 37 years, leaves behind a significant legacy. Although her departure is a great loss, the Fashion Creation Studio Team's creation of this collection attests to the house's strength beyond the abilities of its head designer. When the curtain rose for Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024/25, it was a performance of many years’ making, certainly in terms of house codes, with many more to come even after the prosperous Viard Act has come to a close.
Since Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s era, the house has nurtured a deep affiliation to the performing arts. Chanel herself designed costumes for the Ballet Russes, laying the foundation for a longstanding commitment to the ballet. This commitment has seen the house become the major patron of the Ballet de l’Opéra in 2021 and the Opéra national de Paris in 2023. In Australia, Chanel continues this tradition as the Living Heritage Partner of the Australian Ballet.
For the Haute Couture Fall Winter 2024/25 show, guests received invitations accompanied by opera glasses housed in red velvet-lined boxes. The event itself took place in an opulent setting, with attendees seated in red velvet opera boxes that lined the corridors of the Palais Garnier auditorium. From this vantage, they watched the procession of stately silhouettes swan down the legendary staircases and across the vast halls.
The collection was romantic and theatrical, featuring opera capes with baroque ruffled collars, innovative reinterpretations of the signature tweed suit, cabochon-set bodices encrusted in jewels and pearls, tassels shimmying in abundance, tutus and glittering, airy gowns. The colour palette was soft, featuring blacks, greys, pinks and whites, with the occasional pop of bold colour à la a full fuchsia suit. Big bows adorned the back of each model’s head, as well as many looks. On occasion, sophisticated peplum or a mod-era shift silhouette reminisced on past decades, continuing the house’s tradition of subversively dressing the modern woman.
Like always, the Haute Couture show as closed with the CHANEL Bride, this time Australian’s own Angelina Kendall. She walked a spotlit solo lap of the show space, dressed in a sculpturally appliquéd floral bodice with dramatic puffed sleeves, and a full skirt with a flowing train and tutu-type tulle around the waist. CHANEL loves a marriage: feminine sensibility and masculine practicality; fashion and dance; tradition and modernity.
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