Virginie Viard took inspiration from the Monaco Grand Prix circuit for the house’s new Cruise collection.
“Fun” was how actress Kristen Stewart summed up the Chanel 2022/2023 Cruise collection shown May 5 at the Monte-Carlo Beach Club just outside Monaco.
“There’s something about watching high heels and a bathing suit walk down the beach,” Stewart mused. “I was laughing out loud throughout the entire thing. The collection had a real buoyancy.”
She wasn’t the only one who found designer Virginie Viard’s latest work full of whimsy. Clients, press and celebrities including Tilda Swinton, G Dragon and Johnny Depp ex Vanessa Paradis had flown in from all corners of the globe for the event. And there were plenty of locals, too, including Monaco royals such as Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline (a BFF of late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld).
Guests lounged under striped cabanas while models strutted by at the water’s edge. Many of the looks riffed on the region’s cultural and leisure pursuits. There were cute pink tennis racquet cases, superyacht-ready swimwear, and black satin footwear inspired by the pointe shoes worn by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Slot machine purses nodded to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, made famous in films such as Golden Eye and Ocean’s Twelve.
And the Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place at the end of this month, provided endless amusement. Several models carried racing helmets or miniature versions made into purses. Tweed and silk jumpsuits lined in terry cloth seemed like luxe versions of what a pit crew might wear.
Lagerfeld had always wanted to show at the Beach Hotel, Viard shared in a touching press release. “To me, Monaco is a matter of feelings above all. That’s Karl, Caroline, Charlotte. From very early on, I knew we would hold a show there, and more precisely at the Beach Hotel. Besides, Karl was dreaming about it. “ Lagerfeld owned the villa, La Vigie, above the beach club and shot several Chanel campaigns at the home including an iconic one from the ‘90s starring Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. “I will never forget the times I spent there: terraces and balconies, big umbrellas, baskets of flowers — so much beauty,” Viard recalled.
Those florals popped up as bib-like clusters on striped shirt dresses and black satin gowns. But it was the racing prints that spoke to Stewart.
“I don’t know if it’s because I like cars and I like to drive really fast,” she said, adding that she isn’t one of the many who have recently taken to watching Formula 1 racing. “The first car that I ever drove as a teenager had a strip of checks around it and the top of the car was completely checkered.” You could even say she has a checkered past.
Swipe through the gallery below to see all the looks from the Chanel Cruise 2022/2023 collection.
