It all starts with a photo shoot. After all, fashion is made up of clicks: the magic of the photographer's hand and the model's interpretation of the dress make the advertised garment lucky or not. Even for the presentation of the new Chanel pret-a-porter collection for Spring / Summer 2022 everything starts from an image. Model Vivienne Rohner takes a photo: this is the black and white portrait that appears on the invitation and in the staging of the show. "Because fashion is basically made up of clothes, models and photographers" also confirms Virginie Viard, artistic director of the prestigious French maison. "Karl Lagerfeld - continues the designer, who for many years and until the death of the German designer, was the Kaiser's right hand - photographed the Chanel campaigns himself.Today I invite photographers. I love the way they see Chanel. It supports and inspires me. "The duo Inez & Vinoodh signed the images for this collection, including five films with Lily-Rose Depp, Alma Jodorowsky, Jennie, Rebecca Dayan and Quannah Chasinghorse-Potts who all repeat the same gesture, a camera in hand.
"It is a magical object and a sexy gesture - adds Viard - that evokes many memories in me. I loved the sound of the flashes that went on at fashion shows in the Eighties, when the models were on a raised catwalk. I wanted to relive that emotion". And so Virginie Viard wanted to recreate that type of catwalk at the Grand Palais Éphémère, in Paris, a space on a human scale whose atmosphere made her go back in time.
"Many swimsuits in my collection - explains Virginie - very simple in gold or white with black finishes". A series of beachwear that Madamoiselle Gabrielle Coco Chanel would have liked a lot, since she was the pioneer of tanning, banned by ladies until the early decades of the twentieth century, and of the freedom from skirts and corsets on the beach, preferring comfortable swimwear. jersey.
Chanel also shows short dresses in pink or mauve tweed, fishnet skirts, jackets embellished with multicolored crochet and denim suits. There are also many prints to brighten up dresses for elegant evenings in the moonlight: large colorful butterfly wings on black chiffon. Some items are paired with a large shopper or a soft quilted bag, embellished with a large chain. The cube hand bag in gold-colored quilted leather is delightful. The heels are asymmetrical and the Mary-Jane buckles and sandals "remind us of pirate shoes" reveals Virginie Viard amused. "I always like to have something romantic. A touch of mystery." For Chanel's Spring-Summer 2022 Ready-to-Wear show, photographers Inez & Vinoodh produced a series of video teasers and photographs with Vivienne Rohner.Behind the camera lens, the model plays the role of both photographer and fashion muse in cinematic black and white.
