Virginie Viard Does Shorts the Chanel Way for Fall 2023

From bike shorts to bloomers.

When one thinks "Chanel," the mind goes to tweed jackets, quilted bags, little black dresses, camellias... Creative director after creative director, collection after collection, these have remained core offerings from the French luxury house (and, clearly, quite popular among its clientele). But for Fall 2023, Virginie Viard is pushing the boundaries of the brand, introducing some new styles to the canon. Chanel bloomers, anyone?

At its latest Paris Fashion Week presentation, held at the Grand Palais Éphémère on Tuesday, Chanel proposes some new staples to go with its tried-and-true favorites. Instead of flowy trousers or sharp pencil skirts, the two-piece sets feature shorts as the preferred bottom: form-fitting bike shorts, knee-length shorts, bloomer-like shorts that bunch up at the knee. Short is the preferred hem length across much of the line, from jumpsuits to skirts to tweed dresses — though, Viard also has plenty of ankle-skimming coats, skirts and gowns, plus full-length trousers, for those who want a little more coverage.

Like a lot of the collections we've seen this fashion month, Fall 2023 at Chanel sticks primarily to black and white, with dashes of pink (baby, salmon, purple-y, magenta) and red (burgundy, cherry) sprinkled in. The camellia is, of course, a recurring motif, appearing as a black-and-white print (interspaced with Chanel's crossed C's), as the pattern on floral lace, as 3D rosettes on knits, as an abstract graphic on a mini dress and as embroidery; it also adorns the season's marquee heel.

The brand's last few haute couture debuts may have felt a tad underwhelming (save for the corgi beading, that was amazing), but daywear's a stronger avenue for Viard, especially when she keeps the color palette restrained and focuses on the fabrication and detail that make these pieces feel special. She'll take one idea or motif, and iterate it in a way that makes it appeal to a wide breadth of consumers: If you're not sure about bike shorts, try the bloomer jumpsuit or a short suit set — or, if you don't want another camellia print, consider a leather trench with 3D leather camellias along the collar. When it works, it works.

Scroll down for every look from the Chanel Fall 2023 show.

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