Tuesday was Chanel’s haute couture show at the Paris Palais Garnier Opera House. The fashion house showcased an array of glamorous evening clothing, including billowing silk taffeta capes and trim, adorned tweed ensembles.
The audience was sat on luxurious red seats beneath a low, mirrored ceiling as models emerged from the tiny doors of the private boxes within the old structure and marched down the corridors.
They paraded fitting coats, bustier dresses with tightened waists, and jackets adorned with bows; their sandals were open-toed and featured short heels encrusted with crystals encircling a pearl ring.
The event concluded with a conventional bride dressed in a train that followed behind her floor-length gown with large, puffy sleeves.
The exhibition took place as the French luxury brand prepares for a design makeover and moves into a transitional phase after the unexpected announcement earlier this month of the departure of longtime creative director Virginie Viard. Viard had worked with Karl Lagerfeld for decades before taking over as his successor after his death in 2019.
The departure of Viard has sparked a lot of conjecture regarding the next person to occupy the most coveted designer position in the business.
The location on Tuesday also represented a change for Chanel, which usually hosts its events at the glass-and-steel Grand Palais building in the French capital as well as a temporary replacement facility beneath the Eiffel Tower while it undergoes renovations.
This week’s Paris haute couture shows, which run until June 27, have appearances from Christian Dior, LVMH-owned (LVMH.PA), and Thom Browne, a division of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.
