Chanel Goes Rock n' Roll for First Virtual Couture Collection

Paris Couture Week is usually a bustling time, a few days each in January and July for clients and journalists to see exquisite custom clothes in exclusive settings. It will look a bit different this year—in May, the Fédération de la Haute Couture announced that the Fall/Winter Couture Week would take place virtually, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, Chanel—which was the first major label to show its cruise collection digitally—has now presented its Fall 2020/Winter 2021 couture collection with a series of photographed looks and videos. Virginie Viard—the creative director of Chanel who succeeded Karl Lagerfeld after his death in 2019, presented 30 designs with a rock-romantic aesthetic, many of them black and gray with shocks of pink. The house's signature tweed jackets are still there, but with a wild 80s energy. “I was thinking about a punk princess coming out of Le Palace at dawn,” said Viard. “With a taffeta dress, big hair, feathers and lots of jewelry. This collection is more inspired by Karl Lagerfeld than Gabrielle Chanel." Click through to see all 30 looks from the collection.