“I have imagined the Fall-Winter 2022/23 Haute Couture show in the continuity of the previous show, leaving room for experimentation,” says Virginie Viard. “The group of artists who surround me, made up of Xavier Veilhan, Sébastien Tellier, Charlotte Casiraghi and joined by Pharrell Williams and model Vivienne Rohner, allows for this. As does the Haute Couture.”
“In this new collection, there are suits, long dresses like Mademoiselle Chanel imagined them in the 1930s: fitted to the body even though they have strong shoulders here, and pleated dresses like the wedding dress for instance. And lace too, inlaid, reworked, not embroidered, but repainted. The palette consists of bright green, khaki, beige, pink, lots of black and silver.”
From the anniversary High Jewellery collection ‘1932’, which pays tribute to the first and only ‘Bijoux de Diamants’ collection created in 1932 by Mademoiselle Chanel, Virginie Viard chose to use necklaces as “celestial elements because they fit with pleats.”
On foot, in addition to T-strap pumps, there are cowboy boots that add a twist to long skirts and weave a link with the Étrier de Paris equestrian centre, the venue chosen to host the show. “These boots also echo the previous Haute Couture show that opened with Charlotte Casiraghi on horseback,” adds
Virginie Viard.
Round shoulders, square backs, embroideries with geometric shapes and patterns are a nod to the 1930s, while also looking back to the 1970s, they resonate with the constructivism of a very “graphic” décor. A key word to which Karl Lagerfeld was particularly attached.
The setting is inspired by a camouflage of optical illusions, with its play on shapes and stripes. “Xavier Veilhan had fun transforming the set into an immersive installation, as soft as it is shifting, in which the
music takes part.”
This freedom is expressed through tweed once again, through large men’s hats and capelines with very wide brims. “I also like to break the graphic approach with a natural look. The clothes remain light, feminine, designed to be worn. I can’t see myself doing it any other way.”
