CHANEL Fall/Winter 2024/25 – Sail Into Deauville’s Sunset, Reviving The Spirit Where The Vision Began

Under the gradient of somber skies, Creative Director Virginie Viard transports us back to the heart of CHANEL's origins for Fall/Winter 2024/25 – the illustrious seaside town of Deauville. This storied destination, pivotal to Gabrielle Chanel's early forays into fashion with the opening of her first hat shop and later clothes, serves as a vivid backdrop for Viard's imaginative seaside escape.

The collection is an exquisite reconstruction of the Deauville boardwalk, a promenade of romance and sensuality under shifting skies. Models, cinematic phantoms from an era of quiet opulence, traverse a recreated beachfront set against colossal screens, where day gives way to dusk in a theatrical homage to the serene 1920s and 1970s.

Amidst the ethereal charm of the CHANEL Fall/Winter 2024/25 show, the occasion was further illuminated by the maison's distinguished ambassadors and personalities. These luminaries brought the Deauville-inspired show to life.

JENNIE, celebrated CHANEL Ambassador, captivated onlookers in an exquisite little black dress from the Spring-Summer 2024 Haute Couture collection. Penélope Cruz, in her vibrant yellow cashmere ensemble paired with a sleek black leather jacket and skirt from the CHANEL Métiers d’Art 2023/24 collection. The show also saw Margaret Qualley and Naomi, each in their exquisite ensembles, echoing CHANEL's deep-rooted heritage. Riley Keough and Vanessa Paradis additionally graced the event, their chic appearances a tribute to the visionary spirit at the heart of CHANEL's legacy.

The collection presents a dialogue between androgynous overtones and cinematic influence, drawing femininity from Gabrielle Chanel's personal wardrobe and masculinity from the serene winters by the sea. Broad-shouldered peacoats and sumptuous dressing-gown-style belted coats are effortlessly layered over structured tweed suits. This juxtaposition is the core of CHANEL's DNA, reinterpreted through the prism of modernity.

Sartorial craftsmanship unfolds in chunky sailor sweaters, adorned with vistas of Deauville, and cascades to silk blouses with middy collars, evoking the gentle lapping of waves and lingering sea breeze. Viard's vision manifests in meticulously designed garments, from the nonchalant drop-front trousers to the delicately flounced low-cut tops that whisper of seaside tranquility and soft winds.

Viard's palette is a tender ode to Deauville's ever-changing radiant skies, with vibrant and pastel hues of pink, mauve, orange, and pale blue painting the collection, anchored by earthy browns and the lustrous gleam of gold lamé. The motifs of 35mm film and cinema tickets lace the fabric, connecting the pieces to Deauville's illustrious cinematic history. Reflecting on the cinematic influence, Viard describes, 'The silhouette of David Bowie, the magnetism of film stars walking on the sand, like Anouk Aimée, a great friend of Gabrielle Chanel... this collection pays homage to these familiar figures.'

Echoing the Deauville sky, the collection further reveals playful textures and hues. A sheer dress, draped in a pastel-hued, lattice-like pattern with touches of earth tones, sways beneath an elegant wide-brimmed hat, conjuring a vision of seaside sophistication. In contrast, a modern twist on CHANEL's signature tweed surfaces in shades of soft pink and black, a delightful reinvention that intertwines fringed edges with the assertiveness of embellished buttons and chains. Together, these ensembles meld the heritage of CHANEL with the fresh spirit of Viard's vision, evoking the timelessness of the brand's elegant origins.

This season, CHANEL introduces imaginative and instantly iconic accessories. Pastel wide-brimmed hats and colorful silk scarves crown the ensembles, while heeled knee-high and thigh-high sheepskin boots echo the legendary style of Anouk Aimée in A Man and a Woman, a nod to the past that strides confidently into the present.

Through layering of materials, colors, and volumes, this collection honors Gabrielle Chanel's heartfelt tribute to her love of Deauville. With momentous impact, Viard's Fall/Winter 2024 collection weaves another thread of CHANEL history with reverence and contemporary determination.

As Virginie Viard unveils this "very warm collection" against the wintry elements of the seaside breeze, we witness the spark that informed the earliest moments of CHANEL. With the visionary spirit of its founder, Viard continues her legacy with an imaginative invitation into the brand's beginnings. A mending of past and present, the Fall/Winter 2024 collection becomes yet another beginning for the storied house.