Past locations have included Cuba and Texas, but today, Chanel chose a slightly less far-flung location for its annual Cruise show: your living room. No catwalk, no front row and no flight necessary. Instead, this morning, at precisely 11.15am, the luxury brand released a video, filmed by Julien Pujol, of its collection.
The collection, ‘Balade en Méditerranée’, was originally scheduled to be shown last month in Capri, but creative director Virginie Viard was forced to cancel due to coronavirus.
‘Initially I had Capri in mind, where the show was supposed to take place, but didn’t happen in the end because of lockdown,’ says Viard, ‘So we had to adapt. Not only did we decide to use fabrics that we already had, but the collection, more generally, evolved towards a trip around the Mediterranean... The islands, the scent of the eucalyptus, the pink shades of the bougainvillea.’
It was the beautiful faces who would flock to the Italian Riviera, legends of the silver screen attempting to holiday incognito, who inspired the collection’s laid-back glamour.
The house signature tweed jacket is present and correct in sugar mice pink - but this time it’s unlined and worn over a monochrome short suit or straight-leg jeans and pool slider sandals - while beaded bandeau tops and body chains give the classic twinset a beachy twist.
The collection was conceived as the ultimate capsule wardrobe for travelling light, or ‘a wardrobe that can be carried in a little suitcase on wheels,’ with mix-and-match separates, like high-waisted trousers the colour of primroses or a waterfall-hem skirt, that can be worn for beach walks, poolside cocktails or long pizzeria lunches.
Alas, we won’t be doing any of those for the time being, although the backyard bikini gained momentum in the mini heatwave so watch this space. But with the BFC and CFDA joining forces to urge brands to only show at major fashion weeks as part of the industry's radical reset, as opposed to making editors/buyers and customers travel around the world throughout the year, Chanel’s video-only show might be the future.