BAZAAR’s Kenneth Goh And Windy Aulia Reflect On Virginie Viard’s Chanel

By now, the news that Virginie Viard has bid adieu to the house of Chanel would have been well-known to fashion and Chanel lovers. 

After more than 30 years with the French brand–five of which were spent as the house’s artistic director after the passing of Karl Lagerfeld–Viard announced that she would be stepping down.

Viard, who Lagerfeld once told cameras in Netflix’s 7 Days Out documentary was “the most important person, not only for me but also for the atelier, for everything”, was best known for finding the sweet spot between her predecessor’s playful fashions tempered with her own pragmatic approach to chic. Under her care, Chanel’s collections felt a bit more relaxed, and a bit more size-inclusive.

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Yet some things didn’t change with Viard’s stewardship, most of all the transportive collections she and Chanel often did for their Métiers d’Art and Cruise collections each year. Viard’s imagination brought us to locations that included Dakar in Senegal and Marseille. For her last Métiers d’Art collection, Viard brought us to Manchester, and it’s from this energetic collection that our June 2024 issue’s cover look comes from.

Ahead, Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore’s Editor-in-Chief Kenneth Goh and Creative Director Windy Aulia look back at the best of Virginie Viard’s work through the pages of the magazine, and discuss the legacy that Viard has left at the house of Chanel.

Pre-Fall Métiers d’Art 2024 collection, shown in Manchester, UK

Kenneth Goh: Chanel hit the streets for this show, quite literally. I remember it was raining during the show. It felt like these Northern factory girls were ending their shift and walking home, albeit decked out in beautiful looks by Chanel. 

The show felt like an ode to the UK, and I felt the Mary Janes that they wore made a really nice splash on the wet gravel floor. These weren’t teetering high heels, but sensible footwear that they could brave the elements in.

 And of course, there were the memorable tweed outfits that they wore, which had this ‘tougher than nails’ vibe – like these were girls who could take on anything. I felt that the show reflected the space very well without being cliche.

Windy Aulia: We shot this with English photographer Claire Rothstein and model Sherry Ramsay Shi. The inspiration behind this editorial was a girl who leaves the comforts of her life to gain her independence and go explore the world. We wanted to keep it fun, so on the cover, you see her running away with her pet pug and a Chanel briefcase that’s packed with all of her precious knick-knacks.

Cruise 2023 collection, shown in Monte Carlo, France

K: I thought the show was fun, youthful, and probably one of my favourite shows by Virginie Viard. The collection referenced the whole motocross, F1 Grand Prix thing, but done in a way that was youthful and felt very tongue-in-cheek. When I watched the show, it felt very free and energetic.

This was also the first show I watched in person after travel restrictions were lifted post-pandemic, so there was a real sense of optimism and frivolity that the world was yearning for that we wanted to capture through this editorial that we shot in Australia.

Spring/Summer 2023 Haute Couture collection, shown in Paris, France

W: What’s worth noting about this photograph is that this was one of the rare times Virginie and Chanel brought the Haute Couture collection to Singapore, which was very special for Singaporean customers. We were discussing how we could do justice to the clothing through the shoot, and we decided to play with light and shadow and really spotlight the craftsmanship.

What I loved about this collection was how wearable couture can be. There wasn’t anything restrictive about the pieces. The wearer can jump, sit, and move easily. The simplicity of her designs really let the craftsmanship shine through, because it becomes more about the skills rather than an over-the-top idea or silhouette.

Cruise 2022 collection, shown in Carrières de Lumières, France

W: This shot was for our 20th anniversary issue, so this is our homage to Singapore. We shot Kaigin Yong on the top of a double-decker bus going around the island from sunset and into the night. After all, we couldn’t travel anywhere, so why not rent a bus to see the country in a different way?

Even though we couldn’t travel due to pandemic restrictions, I had been to Carrières de Lumières before, and I remember how stunning these quarries were. With the clothing and the girls walking through these quarries, I can imagine how amazing the show’s energy would have been if there were physical guests.

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Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture collection, shown in Paris, France

K: This look really epitomises the quintessential Chanel customer. She’s cocooned in her own private space, wearing the most fashionable colour. I remember that when I watched this show, I was very taken in by the hats. They lent a sense of grandeur and drama to the outfits, because Virginie always keeps her couture pieces very pared down. For me, the couture vibe came through with this full look – from the dramatic hat to the jacket with the nipped waist. You can only do justice to a look this simple when you have the most luxurious fabrics and the best artisans, and Virginie did it well. It can only be Chanel couture.

W: And there is a realness to the photograph as well. It’s very intimate. She’s not on a pedestal, surrounded by many seamstresses. She’s putting on her own shoes, and you get the feeling that she’s a cool girl. 

That’s something Virginie did well: she knew how to make Chanel relevant for the cool girls too.

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Pre-Fall Métiers d’Art 2022 collection, shown at le19M in Paris, France

K: When we wanted to portray youth and newness, we thought that nothing speaks better to the idea of freshness than white. This all-white look was first shown at le19M, which houses Chanel’s many craft ateliers. We wanted to replicate that structure and urban feeling of le19M on the streets of New York. With Whitney Peak strolling casually with her minaudière in hand, there’s a nonchalance to it. I think it’s reflective of youth culture today, and there’s an ease of motion that Virginie always imbued into her collections. She was sensitive to her customer’s need for comfort.

Pre-Fall Métiers d’Art 2021 collection, shown in Châteaux de la Loire, France

W: This was shot as a reflection of the pandemic. At its peak, we were all cooped up at home, and getting all dressed up to stay home and watch TV. The collection was shown at the Chateaux de la Loire, which was once a homebase for Catherine de’ Medici, except that the chateaux was far grander than any of our own. Even though we watched the collection from our laptops in Singapore, the idea that we were virtually brought to this chateau was truly a way of escaping the pandemic.

Spring/Summer 2020 RTW collection, shown in Paris, France

K: Having observed Karl Lagerfeld for so many years, I understand why Virginie didn’t go all out with fantastical sets. It would have been impossible to compete with Karl’s larger-than-life vision, so rather than do that, she went in the other direction. She didn’t do too much in the way of theatrics, and her shows were rooted in realism. When you see the pieces up close, you realise how much work goes into each clothing item. You can see how they tap on the different métiers and that’s what makes the clothing special.

W: This show was shown in October 2019, and we shot this in Los Angeles in February 2020. What’s interesting is that this was the last shoot that we did pre-pandemic. I think it’s interesting that in hindsight, it was all kismet. We wanted to tell a fashion story of a housewife in the backyard of her own home, and then in a few short months later, everything about this became real.