Chanel. Spring 2020 RTW - Paris Fashion Week.

(Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the 

photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com)

I was fortunate enough to write a tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld for a new fashion magazine from London called OVERDUE, of his recent passing.  After 36 Years at Chanel as their creative director, the brand holds an synonymous legacy to Lagerfeld, as the newly appointment creative director Virginie Viard is now in order to take over from what Lagerfeld created for the iconic fashion brand.  This may or may not be a daunting task and within the semantics of its description aside, it is also a privilege.  For what it's worth,  is the reminder that we are all mortal.  As an old Italian proverb decrees that After the game, the King and Pawn go into the same box. 

Viard's first Spring Ready-to-Wear for Chanel, is a far cry from Lagerfeld's notable Spring 2019 showing of an extravagant 'beach' set piece with simulated waves and alluring atmosphere.  Rather, the runway as a Chanel theme remains within the Grand Palais.  Yet, Viard has imprinted her Nouvelle Vague or New Wave for the brand.  She is resetting Lagerfeld's story board of the chic Parisian, utilizing the Paris rooftops props as her template, with its slightly colder and Noir feel, to which she credited the 1950s and 1960s of new wave French cinema.  And if you are aware of cinema history, French New Wave with its later influence, held a dark resonance of early French thrillers.  Viard's ensured imprint for Chanel is setting forth a reconstructed and more risqué stylization, to which there are certain images, from her Spring 2020 show, that resonate of Jean-Luc Godard's classic “Breathless” (1960), particularly the end of the move, is essentially about betrayal or more so the subtle Femme Fatale.  Although admittedly, the opening outfit of Viard's Ready-to-Wear collection, is only a slight reflection of the mentioned movie – it is the Paris apartment rooftops that hold more of the Nouvelle Vague symbolism. 

There may appear an innocence with this collection, but Viard has not opted for any prudish overview, this new wave Parisian Rive Gauche look is all about the seductive appeal. She is stripping back some of Lagerfeld's layering, raising the skirt hem lines, revealing plugging v-necks. with high cropped shorts, leotards all flowing into open array.  It looks relaxed, sexy and feminine.  Chanel's textured styles remained with the recognizable weaved and pattern impression, with some aspects of modernist flavor, however the overall collection is a refreshing take on the epochal brand.  To which Viard has risen to the challenge.