Chanel Brings the Wintry Seaside to Paris

In 1912, Gabrielle Coco Chanel opened a boutique selling her hats and androgynous ready-to-wear in the seaside resort of Deauville. The town, also known as the “Parisian Riviera,” has hosted the city’s elite for decades. Thanks to its pristine beaches and cotton-candy sunsets, Deauville was also the setting for the 1966 Claude Lelouch movie, A Man and a Woman, starring French cinematic legend Anouk Aimée. The film served as inspiration for the Inez & Vinoodh-directed short film that opened this season’s Chanel show, starring house ambassadors Penélope Cruz and Brad Pitt as the fated lovers, setting the scene for the cozy, masculine-infused runway show.

Chanel’s shows are places for fantasy, and this season, creative director Virginie Viard had the ’20s and the beach on her mind. The boardwalk runway sat below a massive screen, which changed like Deauville’s sky at golden hour, transmuting through dusty pinks, bright oranges, and crisp blues. The clothes followed suit, drawing from naval uniforms with tweed peacoats and sailor foldover sweaters. There were easy cardigan sets and wool jumpsuits, perfect for walking the beach on winter days, paired with simple handbags and thigh-high, shearling-lined suede boots. Cozy shearling jackets and skirts were styled with jeans: the ultimate Jane Birkin winter uniform.

The ’70s freedom of mind took center stage with daytime looks that placed comfort and ease top of mind. Stacks of signature Chanel jewelry flounced, and everything was cinched in with a belt so constriction is an option, not a requirement. The massive hats, some adorned with brooches, were a clear callback to the hats Chanel made over 100 years ago, with pastels bringing fresh life to the beach staple. The sunsets of Deauville found their way onto knit sets that had sky-inspired patterns, plus less obvious references on ombré sundresses, sweet as sherbet. The finale dresses brought a lightness to the show, with lingerie inspired dresses in black and white and sweeping flurries of printed dresses only needing the wind of the sea to bring them to life.

Rising runway superstar Angelina Kendall closed the show in a simple white hat, black dress, and heart jewelry adorning her neck and ears. The romance of the seaside is something French people love year-round. Indeed, this was one of Viard’s more romantic showings in several season‚nostalgic without being sappy, referential without accepting modernity. All that one needs now is to book that winter vacation... even if the water proves to be too cold to swim in.

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