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PARIS, FRANCE: “Burn down your very best yesterday, every day, so you can start again,” says Kristen Stewart in an Inez and Vindooh-directed short film screened as an opener to CHANEL’s Spring/Summer 2023 show. Inspired by Alain Resnais’ 1961 movie, Last Year in Marienbad, Stewart – who is sporting a new, grown-up, brunette pixie-cut – wanders the streets of Paris in a sequinned gold dress, and, in another scene, up the famous CHANEL staircase at Rue Cambon.
“We’re living in such an accelerated period of growth, it gives me whiplash,” Stewart tells a reporter in the movie. “It gives me whiplash and it’s exhilarating.” And so, a collection inspired by Stewart’s laid-back curiosity is presented to the world, one which marries the CHANEL woman of the past with the CHANEL woman of today. And it’s stunningly beautiful.
“Whether it’s her, or the other women I dress, I need to feel that they like the clothes anyway,” says Virginie Viard of Stewart. “But, of the people around me, [Stewart] is the closest to Gabrielle Chanel, at least to my idea of her. She understands CHANEL, its clothes. And with her, it becomes even more modern. This collection, it’s also her.”
Tweed jackets, boyish knits and tap shorts still reign supreme for SS23 with Viard keeping the palette neutral: black and ivory with pastel accents, save for a few pieces with a new print which was made up of stills from the opening film. Jewellery, while layered for seasons past, was added to again with strands upon strands of necklaces and drop earrings. Updates of particular note included a smaller version of the CHANEL 22 bag, mixed in with an array of embellished black garments: a pant-top duo, an ostrich feathered skirt and sheer top, and a black double-C monogrammed mini with intricate ivory buttoning down its back and fingerless gloves with bows just above the elbow. The final look saw a lace dress with a drop waists which was so classically beautiful, it could be imagined on Gabrielle Chanel herself in the 50s ascending the aforementioned staircase, as well as Kristen Stewart on the red carpet today.
But the real standout? The real thing you will be obsessed by were the cap-toe slingbacks and crystal booties which were paired with glamorous, glittering socks – both ankle length and mid-calf.
“Bows, boas, rhinestone boots, jersey worked like scales, white jacket with sequins, deconstructed prints, pastel tweeds; gold dress in velvet panne, side slit black dress, flowing over the body; in lace, like a flower, or in light chiffon: the CHANEL Spring-Summer 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection is a collage,” the show notes read.
Yes, the sweet spot between past and present couldn’t have been better executed. Viard is the maker of timelessness – alluring, classic and a new elegance – with the same freedom of movement – for a new generation.
See highlights from the collection below. You can also watch the show below.
