Photography | Inez & Vinoodh, Leila Smara
The show begins with a black and white movie, with Diana Ross crooning “Do you know where you’re going to”. The models make their way through the streets of Paris’s Left Bank, arriving at their destination and entering through a glittering beaded curtain.
They are at the Castel, Paris’s legendary private club, where high society and celebrities have mingled since it opened in 1961. Part restaurant part nightclub, there is no signage at the door—you know you have arrived when you reach the red lacquered doors.
The models are now in a flurry of activity. One is checking her lipstick, while another is adjusting her neckline. Someone in the background says, “camera rolling: three, two, one.” Diana Ross is then silenced with a scrub, the scene turns full colour with a new disco beat pumping and the catwalk show begins.
“I love contrasts, so for the more voluminous winter pieces, I wanted a small space,” says Virginie Viard, creative director of Chanel, in describing the atmosphere of the Fall-Winter 2021/22 Ready-to Wear show. “I don’t know if this is because of the times we live in, but I wanted something warm, lively.
“I imagined the models doing a show for themselves, going from room to room, crossing each other in staircases, piling their coats up in the cloakroom and going up to the next floor to get changed. And I thought of the shows that Karl [Lagerfeld] would tell me about, back in the day, a long time ago, when the models would dress themselves and do their own makeup.”
As Viard says, the collection is all about contrasts between volumes, materials and spirit. A long tweed coat reveals bare legs in furry black boots; a trouser suit is adorned with thin braces in pearls and layers of sautoir necklaces.
A white patent sheepskin coat is lined with faux fur and coupled with “down jacket” style two-tone boots, while salopettes ski suits are worn with strappy sandals embellished with chains and little black bows or pumps adorned with a camellia.
“This collection is a mix of two influences: the ambiance of ski holidays, which I adore, and a certain idea of cool Parisian chic, from the 1970s to now,” says Viard.
Meanwhile, the show, which is filmed by the duo Inez & Vinoodh, continues to cut back and forth between behind-the-scene footage in black and white, and the catwalk in full colour. Is it suggesting that what happens behind the curtains is just as important as what occurs on the runway? Or is it just teasing us with the fun of dressing up and going out with friends?
Ah, how we long to dance the night away in style and glamour again.
GET THE LOOK
To get the look of the models at Chanel’s Fall/Winter Ready-To-Wear 2021 show, prepare the skin with Hydra Beauty Micro-Serum and Hydra Beauty Camellia Water Cream.
Sultry ‘70s-style eyes are achieved with Les 4 Ombres in 334 Modern Glamour, lined with Le Crayon Khol in 61 Noir, and lashes thickened with Le Volume Revolution de Chanel in 10 Noir.
Cheeks and lips are kept neutral with just a dusting of Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder and Rouge Coco Bloom in 116 Dream.
