For CHANEL‘s Fall/Winter 2022/23 Haute Couture collection, Virginie Viard, sought to celebrate the old and make it new again. “In this new collection, there are suits, long dresses like Mademoiselle Chanel imagined them in the 1930s: fitted to the body even though they have strong shoulders here, and pleated dresses like the wedding dress for instance,” she explains. “And lace too, inlaid, reworked, not embroidered, but repainted,” she said of the collection made up of a palette of bright green, khaki, beige, pink, heavy on black and silver.

The high jewellery collection also paid homage to the past. Called 1932, it was imagined as a tribute to the year’s singular Bijoux de Diamants collection designed by Mademoiselle Chanel. Footwear focused on t-strap heels as well as cowboy boots, which were a nod to the show’s Étrier de Paris equestrian centre venue and the last show’s opening with Charlotte Casiraghi on horseback. Key patterns, shapes, shoulders, back and embroideries from the show were lifted from the 1930s, and had graphic elements, something of importance to Karl Lagerfeld. Wide-brimmed hats added a masculine touch to the collection, which was designed with women in mind. “I like to break the graphic approach with a natural look. The clothes remain light, feminine, designed to be worn,” said Viard. “I can’t see myself doing it any other way.” It’s no doubt a future-forward viewpoint.

View the gallery to see our top looks from the collection.

CHANEL’s Graphic Fall/Winter Haute Couture Collection Moves Forward by Looking Back

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