Any dancer will tell you that there is something freeing to the soul about moving in time with the music; a fluidity and effortlessness that is both pleasing to the eye and therapy to the soul.
That is the essence that Virginie Viard imbued into the Chanel Spring/Summer 2024 Haute Couture show, with the opening look modelled by Margaret Qualley, a former ballerina, no less.
Qualley was resplendent in a classic tweed jacket complete with white tights, white mini skirt with see through overlay and Elizabethan collar.
The show was dedicated to ‘The Button’, an accessory that both allows movement and adds decoration and beauty that can be reimagined time and again.
The collection heroed ballet-core, with tutu-inspired flaring skirts, plenty of tulle, and leotard silhouettes featured in the dominantly pink and white collection.
The flowing shapes were juxtaposed with structured tweed, a decision that feels like an allegory for the art of dance itself, which is as controlled and particular as it is flowing and meandering.
The collection brought the coquette aesthetic to the fore, celebrating peplum style jackets, bows in the hair, gentle makeup, ethereal sheer overlays and of course white tights and knee socks paired with black dainty heels.
“I have tried to bring together the power and finesse of bodies and clothes in a very ethereal collection, composed of tulle, ruffles, pleats and lace,” Viard wrote of the collection.
“For me, dance evokes all these stories and emotions that are close to my heart, and that I take such pleasure in handing down and recounting.”
The collection leant into the art of the tutu, bringing in the beautiful sequin and shimmering embellishment often seen on performance outfits.
It also celebrated modesty, with leotards layered under cropped silhouettes and sheer overlays on mini skirt lengths.
This is a win for the girly girls. A reminder that enjoying ‘the fun and the feminine’ is not something to shy away from or be deemed childish. This collection is a lesson that celebrating girlhood can also be effortless, ethereal, prim and sophisticated.
Of course, with any dance-themed show, the music is essential, and Chanel have excelled. The models walked down the runway to a brand new track from Kendrick Lamar, which is still yet to be named.
The runway took place under a giant Chanel button, signalling and celebrating the show’s inspiration.
Alongside the show, Chanel produced a short black-and-white film featuring Margaret Qualley. In it, she rushes to the station upon noticing a button is missing from her Chanel jacket. Finding herself in line behind a woman who got the last train to Paris – who is played by Naomi Campbell – Qualley is distraught.
Campbell hands the ticket to Qualley, saying that it’s on Chanel. She rushes to the store in Paris, but what she finds there is much more than a simple button.
Watch it here: