It was a surreal moment when models emerged from the grand entrance of Palais Galliera to showcase Chanel Fall Winter 2021-22, under the baton of Artistic Director Virginie Viard, at Haute Couture Week. The presentation was designed creatively with the showing held in the courtyard outside the retrospective exhibition on Coco Chanel.

Although Viard paid homage to the iconic tweed suit she redesigned the textile as a trompe-l’œil impressionist canvas in pastel shades. A white satin dress with black bows is reminiscent of Impressionist painter Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot’s aesthetic while Cubist artist Marie Laurencin’s influence was evident in the pastel pinks and blues with splashes of yellow, red or purple. ‘It was when I rediscovered these portraits of Gabrielle Chanel dressed up in black or white 1880s-style dresses, that I immediately thought about tableaux. Works by Berthe Morisot, Marie Laurencin and Édouard Manet,’ she told Vogue.

Viard infused a modern vibe to the house codes, updating a sailor jacket designed by Mademoiselle Chanel and appealing to the edgy, younger set with the black neo-lingerie style, the cocktail dress with coordinated knickers and the tube top worn under a classic tweed suit. We loved the lime green tweed oversized coat with linebacker shoulders, the white column dress with the bodice swathed in fabric camellias, feathers and pearls, and the black ruffle-strapped dress that split open to reveal a fringed white hoop skirt!!

The highlight was Chanel muse, supermodel and actor Margaret Qualley, who closed the showing in a stunning long-sleeved white bridal gown accessorised with a black pillbox hat with a pink bow and sequinned veil. that referenced the veil in a Thirties portrait of the late couturier. The moment when she tossed the bridal bouquet over her head — and Laura Brown, Editor, InStyle caught it — went viral on social media. Will she be a Chanel bride? The bets are on!