The iconic French label unveiled its latest Cruise collection with a runway show in Dubai, inspired by Jean Cocteau and “Orpheus”.
Chanel has recently presented its newest Cruise 2021/2022 collection defined by stark two-tone pieces and an evening after-party under a simple white canopy.
This is the second time Chanel has held a runway show for one of its cruise collections in Dubai, a global hub and shopping mecca that beckons jet-setting fashionistas and style mavens to dress in their finest any time of the day without coyness or concerns of proving a second glance.
The Chanel Cruise 21/22 was presented by creative director Virginie Viard, who first unveiled virtually in May due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it was shown to a live audience for the first time in Dubai. All guests in attendance had to prove COVID-19 vaccination or show a negative virus test.
For the collection, Chanel creative director Virginie Viard worked with mod and punk references. She produced and created a line-up of graphic suits, black-and-white miniskirts, fishnet stockings and leather holster belts. The collection was balanced with soft, ivory lace dresses, high-waisted linen pants and floral-embroidered dresses.The clothes had youthfulness that was a reflection of Viard’s signature change from Lagerfeld’s formality. There were also elements of colourful designs such as a signature Chanel tweed print jacket and a two-tone silk crepe suit.
Viard also included leather looks, graphics and beads. Fishnet stockings were paired with mini dresses or with a black and white Chanel tweed skirt suit. Capes, kaftan-type dresses, and loose pants suits were seen throughout.
“The simplicity, the precision and the poetry of Cocteau’s film made me want to create a very clean collection, with a very distinct two-tone, made up of bright white and deep black. Echoing the extreme modernity of Cocteau’s film, I wanted something quite rock. Lots of fringes, in leather, beads and sequins, t-shirts bearing the face of the model Lola Nicon like a rock star, worn with tweed suits trimmed with wide braids, and pointed silver Mary-Janes. A look that recalls as much the modernity of the sixties as that of punk,” said Virginie Viard.
In attendance were CHANEL ambassadors Penélope Cruz, Caroline de Maigret and Soo Joo Park along with the actors Sofia Boutella, Tara Emad, Ruba Zarour and Keean Johnson, the singers Faouzia and John Legend and the musician Kungs.
Jean Cocteau’s play “Orpheus” was a key inspiration for the monochromatic collection. It included themes of morality, sacrifice and artistry. Cocteau’s film “Testament of Orpheus” (1960) was shot at Carrieres de Lumieres – the former quarry in the south of France where CHANEL unveiled its 2021-2022 Cruise collection.
