Up Close With Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2023: True Quiet Luxury In Singapore

For her latest haute couture collection, Virginie Viard’s starting point was, as it usually is, drawn from the history of Chanel, the brand and the woman. In this instance, it was Coco Chanel’s apartment on 31 Rue Cambon that served as inspiration. The space housed a veritable menagerie with various objects, paintings and sculptures depicting lions, does, stags, birds and camels. These were then brought to life by the artist Xavier Veilhan, in his third collaboration with the brand, who created towering sculptures made of wood, cardboard and paper for the show space—out of which emerged the models in Viard’s spring/summer 2023 couture finery. All the aforementioned animals also appeared on the clothes as intricate embroideries, as did kittens, corgis, rabbits and swallows. 

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Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

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Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

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Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

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Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

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While the surface decorations were informed by Chanel’s favourite creatures, the clothes themselves were inspired by the idea of a parade. Viard referenced majorettes, ringleaders and magicians, which translated into a festive, celebratory mood, and resulted in flippy skirts and other breezy silhouettes worn with top hats, bow ties and white gloves. It was haute couture and time-tested Chanel codes made light and youthful. The first look out set the tone: a snowy, high-collared tweed jacket worn with a tulle skirt pleated to look like fluttering feathers, and low-heeled slingback loafers. Variations of the tweed suit followed, with miniskirts and shorts lending this House classic a contemporary air. These were interspersed with coats and capes cut in short, A-line silhouettes, and lean, languid dresses. 

Related article: G-Dragon, Tilda Swinton, And Animal Art At Chanel Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2023

The unfussy, pared-back silhouettes served as something of a blank slate against which to showcase the technical wizardry of the Chanel ateliers. As one would expect with haute couture, craftsmanship took centre stage even though the apparent simplicity of the end result often belied the intricate and incredible work that went into it. The perfect alignment of the curved stripes in gold sequins on a coat-dress is something that can only be achieved through the handmade artistry of haute couture. There were pieces that looked like tweed, but were actually constructed from lace, while what resembled leaves were actually feathers painstakingly cut by the Lemarie atelier. There was a jumpsuit constructed from hand-painted lace with no seams at all. Florals were printed and then overlaid with featherwork applique in the same design for a rich 3D effect. 

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Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

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Viard was also very much inspired by the idea of luxury that is known only to the wearer, hidden from the eyes of others. She translated this idea into cloth by shrouding the most dazzling embroideries under diaphanous layers. Examples of this include a pair of richly-embroidered shorts worn under a sheer black slip of a dress, and the minidress encrusted with more than a hundred golden animals cloaked under a black veil. These seemingly quiet looks best encapsulated the ethos of Chanel’s haute couture: it’s not about ostentation for the sake of ostentation, but a celebration of the highest crafts in fashion—made only for you. That is true quiet luxury.