You’d be forgiven for thinking the confines of restricted global travel would impact the A-list clout of a fashion brand’s front row this season. Not the case, as it turns out, when the brand in question is Chanel. While a heavily restricted number of guests actually attended the brand’s spring summer ’21 runway show in Paris—a global ‘who’s who’ of Chanel’s muses were still there, albeit virtually.
Margot Robbie, Kirsten Stewart and Sofia Coppola—all long-time Chanel ambassadors—checked in to watch the show from the relative comfort of Los Angeles, still posing for a virtual red carpet to celebrate their attendance. French brand muses like Vanessa Paradis, Lily-Rose Depp and Marion Cotillard all appeared in person, posing against the large, cinematic space that creative director Virginie Viard erected in the iconic Grand Palais.
It’s perhaps no surprise that the heavyweights of Hollywood were in attendance—the collection was, by Viard’s own account, a love letter to iconic women of American cinema. The large-scale ‘CHANEL’ sign that the show was set against was an homage to the iconic Los Angeles landmark, while teaser campaign videos created by Inez & Vinoodh were intentionally shot like movie trailers.
It’s particularly fitting given the new season collection launch coincides with the opening of a new Chanel exhibition in Paris. Titled ‘Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto’ and running at the Palais Galliera until March 2020, the exhibit celebrates, among other things, the close relationship Gabrielle Chanel fostered with the film stars of her era. Pieces worn by Grace Kelly feature, as does an audio clip of Marilyn Monroe explaining that she wears “Chanel No. 5” to bed.
See the best of the (virtual) front row here.
