In an unexpected twist from a Chanel Haute Couture show, Virginie Viard surprised us all by switching school girl sophistication in favour of all-out opulence – and we’re not mad about it.
For Haute Couture Fall/Winter ’21, the Creative Director brilliantly took sequins, beads, stones and fabrics left at the atelier and transformed it into a condensed couture collection that consisted of a 30-strong look edit (every season, the collections usually feature 70 looks).
The blinged accessories, rich embroideries, heavy brooches, rings and necklaces were paired with party dresses, tweeded separates (which showcase the work of Métiers d’art embroiderers Lesage, Montex, Lemarié and Goossens), sheer skirts and taffeta dresses.
“I was thinking about a punk princess coming out of ‘Le Palace’ at dawn,” reveals Virginie Viard. “With a taffeta dress, big hair, feathers and lots of jewellery. This collection is more inspired by Karl Lagerfeld than Gabrielle Chanel. Karl would go to ‘Le Palace’, he would accompany these very sophisticated and very dressed up women, who were very eccentric too.”
The collection was presented via a short film by Mikael Jansson and was unveiled online today during Paris Haute Couture Week Online. It featured models like Adut Akech and Rianne Van Rompaey.
Discover Chanel’s Haute Couture Fall/Winter ’21 collection, also photographed and by Jansson, below…
Now, discover Dior’s Haute Couture ’21 collection.
