Discover CHANEL’s Spring/Summer ‘23 Haute Couture Collection

Creative director Virginie Viard reveals a collection packed with animals in her latest Haute Couture collection inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment in rue Cambon.

Paris Haute Couture Week is back and in full swing! Renowned fashion house Chanel surprised the public and fashion lovers with an amazing show. Held at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, Chanel’s creative director, Virginie Viard, chose French artist and sculptor Xavier Veilhan to work with and bring her vision to life her vision for the Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2022/2023. “I love his work and I needed someone to work with for the sets like Karl did – me, I can’t do that! He loves constructivism, that kind of thing that is so Karl!” explained Viard. The collaboration resulted in giant spinning discs and a sand catwalk in a colour palette Chanel is known for: beige, black and white.

Along with a collection trailer titled “Flight of Fantasy,” the larger-than-life animal installation brought to life corgis, pigeons, birds and more. The fashion show is “imagined as a continuation of the creative dialogue” between Virginie Viard and the artist, which first began in January 2022. It all started when Virginie Viard invited Veilhan to Gabrielle Chanel’s iconic apartment on rue Cambon to re-imagine the elements there and bring them to life. Veilhan went a step further and included animal sculptures such as deer, dogs, lions, birds and camels as part of the runway.  “For her third entry, I asked her to reinterpret the department’s bestiary and incorporate her own,” she says. “The entire embroidery universe of the collection is turned toward the animal world.”

Bringing elements of honour to the ingenious catwalk set, eleven monumental animals made of wood, cardboard, and paper reveal models one by one. As the runway show begins, it’s time for the special guest, Princess Charlotte of Monaco, who appears riding a horse dressed in a classic Chanel jacket.

Combined with a French sense of je-ne-sais-quoi, the 1920s and 1930s vibes of the collection were clearly visible thanks to the use of chiffon and organza. Each look was surprisingly wearable for a couture collection. Top hat, bow tie, white gloves, lace-up boots, satin cape, pleated skirt, double-breasted or tailcoat jacket, tuxedo shirt, sequins, very short shorts, petticoats: it is in the poetry of the majorettes that Virginie Viard captures the imagination of her Chanel Spring/Summer 2023 Haute Couture collection.

Embroidered motifs on tweed shorts and wrap dresses included kittens, rabbits and swallows sharing the limelight with Maison’s signature doves, deer or camellias.

There were sequined corgi faces on tweed jackets and bunnies hopping embroidered on delicate sheer dresses, along with Chanel’s classic camellia made in layers of tulle, plus other spring-ready fields of flowers dancing in long, embellished dresses on suit panels.

Dresses and jumpsuits, all in lightness and refinement, overlays, transparencies, ruffles, pleats, thin straps and repainted lace, are made in silk tulle, taffeta, organza, crepe georgette and chantilly.

The collection went from short and sweet daywear to long, and slim evening wear. Within this sequence, there was an elegant parma violet short-sleeved tweed parma coat worn with white leather opera gloves and long dresses that skimmed the body with tiny polka dots and black or white lace.

Then, a series of multicoloured embellished lace emerged, first in the form of tight-fitting leggings and sleeveless tops and then on blouses and skirts. The highlight was a sheer black combination embellished with shimmering leaves that had been double-layered with a ruffled chiffon dress and a crescendo of sequin-drenched ruffles.

Finally, to close the runway, the bride appeared through a hidden door in the elephant. She wore a little white dress entirely covered with embroidered doves and a white bow tie. Like the spirit of the rest of the show, it was a majestic moment.