MANIFESTO

#61

ART NOW

LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD

2022.10.04

Text by Lucrezia Sgualdino.

Chanel’s spring/summer 2023 collection represents the artistic revolution of Gabrielle Coco Chanel. A sophisticated and timeless allure, a free and discreet feminine freedom inspired by the film Last Year in Marienbad.

Virginie Viard is inspired by the Maison’s past by choosing Kristen Stewart as the face of the collection. Indeed, the actress represents the idea of Gabrielle Chanel in Viard’s mind. Grace and elegance, beauty and sophistication. She, as a representation of the woman, feels the clothes she wears, finds herself in the values of the brand giving them a modern vision. In fact, this collection is also herself. The show opens with a small short film shot by the duo Inez & Vinoodh featuring Stewart herself as the protagonist coming out of Le Champo, an iconic art-house cinema in the Latin Quarter of Paris after the performance of Last Year in Marienmad, a 1961 film directed by Alain Resnais. She wears a jersey top, embellished with an oversized bow and a long skirt in pleated and embroidered tulle. From here we begin to savor the entire défilé. 

“The film we have seen, those that possess us and those we invent for ourselves, Marienbad, the Nouvelle Vague, the allure according to Gabrielle Chanel, Karl, the night, feathers, sequins, heels: I like it when things get mixed up.”

– Virginie Viard

The color palette is classic, between black and white there are pastel and dusty shades. Tweed is as always the master, with large patch pockets, frayed or hand-finished; we find blazers, skirts or entire suits, with various weft threads inside or embellished with sequins. The evening world is emphasized by bows and ribbons of all kinds, boas and feathers applied to garments, embroidery details and rhinestones. Velvet, silk and jersey give movement to silhouettes adorned with gold and silver highlights, in a perfect combination of sophistication and modernity. The world presented embodies an almost fantastic and surreal vision, telling the story of a woman going through her life with innate charm. 

BOTTEGA VENETA

BEYOND BORDERS

2023.09.24

Matthieu Blazy takes us through a physical and metaphorical journey, far away, in search of something else, and at the same time intimate, discovering the self. Clothes transform, men and women disguise and change, blending.

LOUIS VUITTON

GHESQUIÈRE OCTOBER 2014

2023.09.20

The GO-14 bag, an acronym for Ghesquière October 2014, originated as one of the first creations to mark the designer’s debut at the head of the Louis Vuitton Maison.

NEWS

On Foot

2023.09.19

The exhibition On Foot, curated by Jonathan Anderson at Offer Waterman Gallery, will bring contemporary artists in dialogue with works of modern British Art and some interventions conceived by the designer himself.

EXHIBITION

MODE ET SPORT. D'UN PODIUM À L'AUTRE

2023.09.18

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris presents Mode et Sport: from September 20th 2023 will be possible to discover the fascinating interconnections between fashion and sport from the ancient world to the present day.

V&A Museaum

FASHION MANIFESTO

2023.09.15

The first exhibition in the UK dedicated to the visionary couturier Gabrielle Coco Chanel – Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will open on September 16th 2023 at the Victoria & Albert Museum.