“I knew we couldn’t organise a big show, that we would have to invent something else, so I came up with the idea of a small cortege that would come down the stairs of the Grand Palais and pass beneath arches of flowers. Like a family celebration, a wedding…” says Virginie Viard setting the tone for the Spring-Summer 2021 Haute Couture collection.
The collecion runway was beautifully presented at the Grand Palais by Dutch photographer and filmaker Anton Corbijn.
“I love big family reunions, when the generations all come together. It’s so warm. There’s this spirit at Chanel today. Because Chanel is also like a family.” A spirit to be celebrated more than ever with the reopening, at the same time, of the Haute Couture Salons at 31 rue Cambon, redecorated by Jacques Grange and inspired by the very feminine charm of the original salons imagined by Gabrielle Chanel, complete with her Coromandel screens and “wheat sheaves” tables by Goossens. At the foot of the mythical staircase swathed in mirrors, “I wanted to bring the models together for family photos, like those you can see in photo albums,” Virginie Viard continues.
“I’m always thinking about what women would like to have in their wardrobe today,” concludes Virginie Viard.
