Chanel SS 2022: the return of fashion that smiles
With Chanel we have seen that optimism explode that has been present on so many other catwalks in recent days. Explode, yes, because if so far there have been so many party looks, here we have relived something truly magical from past fashion. That magic of the late 80s, early 90s, in which supermodels walked the catwalks smiling, having fun and interpreting their clothes, turning and winking at photographers. The photographers who flocked to get the best view.
It seems like a trivial thing, but the serious and vaguely disdainful air of models, press officers, photographers and all the entourage is not something that has always been there. We’re used to it by now, it’s true, and woe to hint at a laugh if you’re sitting in the front row unless you’re a pop star. This was once not the case, and it was all a celebration of joie de vivre and the creation of something new.
Stylist Virginie Viard recalled: “I loved the sound of flashes that went off during shows in the 1980s, I wanted to relive that emotion.” And so she literally recreated a show from those days, where the front row was for photographers and models strut on the runway. Incredibly, even the emotion was perfectly recreated, it felt like we had fallen into a time spiral and ended up thirty years behind.
Everything was so perfect, even the choice of the soundtrack which was a reinterpretation of George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90”. The location was also very similar to that time catwalks, and certainly allowed Viard to recreate the right environment. But it also allowed, in the same period, the great restoration that Chanel is carrying out for the Grand Palais. Location that was for years the location of the incredible fashion shows under Karl Lagerfeld.
The choice of clothes for the new collection was obviously part of the plan. Starting with a series of super-accessorized black and white swimsuits and sports suits made everything much sexier and playable. The classic tweed suits and dresses revisited made us think of the top models shot by Steven Meisel in ’94 for Vogue. The final dresses with butterfly prints and colors confirmed this next trend. Will we finally spread our wings on a brighter future?
