Colour: through subtle and bold combinations, the Creation Studio has chosen to pay tribute with this Haute Couture collection to a central aspect of Gabrielle Chanel’s work. With her radical use of black, the couturière brought about a major aesthetic revolution. Yet, she was also a great colourist. She worked with every colour of the spectrum, from blacks to whites, from the softest pastels to the most vivid tones.
In the centre of the Nave at the Grand Palais, the runway is formed by a double C that sketches out the infinity symbol. The infinite excellence of Haute Couture, of which CHANEL is the oldest House still in activity. Imagined by scenographer-designer Willo Perron, the structure evokes the chromatic circle that the Creation Studio has chosen to reinterpret. In collaboration with Michel Gaubert, the composer Gustave Rudman has written an original score for the show.
White, pastels, bright tones, midnight blue and black: the progression of the collection follows a complete cycle of day to night. From the first lights of day to the glimmer of the firmament, the chromatic scenario begins at dawn and picks up again after dark. The collection showcases a pyjama-style ensemble in dawn-hued silk crêpe, a sunshine yellow tweed suit, a lilac tweed dress with box pleats, a suit in white and black tweed painted and embroidered. Then come an orange-pink coat over a purple jacquard dress and a mimosa-hued dress suit with pale pink flounces. Strappy shoes follow the same logic. Flat or heeled, their colours range from sky blue and violet to white and cream.
Tweeds, pockets, braids, linings that match the blouse – which itself is sometimes attached to the skirt for a remarkable drop – and precious buttons: all the traits of the CHANEL allure are rendered sublime here. Playing with chromatic shocks and joyous contrasts, linings come in bronze, pink, green, yellow, royal blue or purple satin, while braids are graphic, multicoloured or embroidered with little flowers.
The rock crystal, metal and rhinestones buttons metamorphose into moons, suns and camellia flowers. Lunar and solar stars feature on black velvet belts which recall the importance of black to the House. Alternating between short and long, the dresses are also both at once. The delicacy of their fabrics allows for a virtuoso play on proportions. Ethereal and embroidered, flounced and pleated, they express the technical sophistication of Haute Couture. Stardust dress, red dress in embroidered chiffon, shirt dress with a pleated plastron in pale yellow double satin, long puffed sky-blue cape, white sequinned dress worn with a coat in champagne tweed: the collection is imbued with hints of a fairytale. Through the lightness of the materials and subtle trompe l’oeil, painted lace and embroidered chiffon enhanced with halos of colour give the perfect illusion of tweed. A dreamlike and theatrical imagination brought to life by Haute Couture.
A manifesto of beauty and a discipline of excellence, CHANEL Haute Couture – which celebrates its 110 th anniversary this year – offers the Studio unlimited scope for creation. With intense precision and great freedom, the Spring-Summer 2025 Haute Couture collection conveys the values and explores the codes of the House. And as Gabrielle Chanel herself once said, “Comfort has forms. Love has colors.”
