Sweatshirts, shorts and color. The energy of Marseille marries the allure of Chanel

At this point, climate change is the real obstacle that fashion shows dedicated to cruise collections have to face, i.e. those with clothes and accessories that anticipate the summer, and which the brands present with pharaonic shows in elegant and, usually, sunny locations . Certainly, when she decided to show in Marseille, the creative director of Chanel Virginie Viard he didn’t expect that, instead of a warm spring day, the outdoor fashion show would take place in a freezing, almost wintry rain, with the thermometer just above ten degrees and the audience dressed warmly.
Unfortunately it happened like this, but in the end they are just details. Even because the choice to show on the terrace of the Mamo, the contemporary art center curated by Ora Ito says a lot about the collection. The terrace is in fact located on the roof of the Unité d’Habitation de Marseille, Le Corbusier’s famous – and at the time highly criticized – housing structure overlooking the sea, inaugurated in 1952. The reinforced concrete building, with its futuristic and modern architecture , almost seems like a declaration of intent from the maison, which seems to focus on the most urban side of the city.
This is confirmed by the launch videos of the show, which feature (La)Horde, a very popular collective of choreographers (they worked with Madonna on her last tour) who also lead the National Ballet of Marseille. Furthermore, during the hours of the show, the fashion house launched a radio channel in which Charlotte Casiraghi, Lily-Rose Depp e Marion Cotillard, among others, they discussed creativity. The intention, Viard explained, was to celebrate the energy and cultural vitality that make Marseille one of the most interesting and powerful places in the Mediterranean. This push towards the present is also found in the collection, in which the symbols of the brand, those that ensure that Chanel remains an object of absolute desire for consumers, have been made younger and more everyday. The classic bouclé jackets seem to merge with sweatshirts, drawstrings are often seen instead of belts, while broderie anglaise is used on almost minimal looks.
Shorts and sporty swimsuits dominate and, instead of silk and satin, terry toweling was used for bathrobes; there are even flip-flops, here in a “pumped” version, with a wedge. A type of shoe that is theoretically unthinkable in the chic and sophisticated universe of Chanel, but which in this situation has a reason to exist. It helps that, as a contrast, there are the most reassuring straw hats, a direct homage to Coco’s style. ©ALL RIGHTS RESERVED