LOUIS VOUITTON
At Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière takes us on a digital journey immersed in virtual reality. Using green screen technology and a 360-degree camera, home viewers were treated to a 360 tour of the live show, even catching glimpses of Wim Wenders’ 1987 film Wings of Desire. This season, Ghesquière explores the boundaries between masculinity and femininity. Pushing restrictive norms of everyday dressing, Ghesquière experiments the ideal wardrobe that reflects this genderless identity. There were lapel-less jackets and long sweeping overcoats with boxy oversized shoulders; short printed mini dresses akin to oversized T-shirts and slouchy wide trousers cinched at the waist. The silhouette was reminiscent of the ’80s, which was oddly familiar yet complex.
The Grand Palais set was spacious, wide and empty, with nothing but ginormous C-H-A-N-E-L letters staged across for all to see. The backdrop was familiar—an ode to the Hollywood actresses and muses that inspired Virginie Viard’s Spring/Summer ’21 collection for Chanel. “This collection is a tribute to the muses of the House. Some of them are far away, it’s been a long time since we saw them,” explains Viard. As models flowed in, movement and form take shape in various ways. Delicate features of flowing soft chiffon capes and feathers puffed and fluttered with grace and weightless grandeur as the models filled the emptiness of the runway. Oversized tweed jackets and wide trousers moved with ease to the rhythm of the wearer. The feeling evoked, was one of freedom and lightness.
Visible homages to the legacy of the House was evidenced by quintessential Chanel logos in various forms and textures. This includes the symbolic Camellia flower, and the numbers five and 31 that Chanel afficionados would recognise in a heartbeat (the former being Chanel’s very first perfume and the latter, Coco Chanel’s rue Cambon apartment and flagship store). Signature black—a shade made popular by Coco Chanel—is balanced to perfection with punchy neon and soft pastels. It was a clever play of colours Virgine Viard has mastered into an art form. Keep an eye out for standout accessories that include micro vanity cases and miniature classic handbags fashioned as belt charms and necklaces.