Virginie Viard’s Chanel: from Retrospective to Revolutionary?

Let’s talk about tweed for a hot sec.

Picturing a sixty-something, grey haired, probably smells like spearmint and pipe tobacco, college prof? Cuz I am. Tweed looks like what that itch on your back in the spot you can’t reach feels like. There’s a reason why I only ever see it on my grandpa (who is, in fact, a grey haired, retired college professor that smells like spearmint and pipe tobacco. Coolest guy I know, no cap (love you Lolo).

Well I only see it on him, and all the tall, slim, beautiful models on every single Chanel runway EVER. The Spring 2020 RTW collection at Paris Fashion Week was no exception… but also... kind of an exception? Tweed! With a twist!

Subsequent to Karl Lagerfeld’s passing, (R.I.P.), his right hand Woman (go women!), Virginie Viard stepped up as Chanel’s new artistic director, and not to mention the brands first female artistic director since Gabrielle CHANEL (last name in all caps in case you didn’t know who started it all).

Viard’s first solo RTW collection at Paris Fashion Week took on the theme of the Nouvelle Vauge, which Google Translate tells me means “the new wave” en français, perfectly embodying the new era of Chanel, and the new era of tweed too.

The set was grand as always (an aspect of Lagerfeld’s Chanel that they plan on continuing thank god). The models certainly strutted their stuff across Parisian rooftop runways wearing… wait for it…

TWEED! Huge shocker, I know.

As I’ve already said probably too many times, tweed is nothing new to this name brand company, but in this show, it has been reborn. Viard took a modern twist to the classic Chanel tweed suit, appealing to a younger demographic with silhouettes showing LEGS FOR DAYS. The skirts were short. The shorts were, well, short, and she even reconstructed the image of the tweed suit as a romper. Viard somehow made tweed, dare I say……. sexy?????

Revealing and modest. Classy never trashy. Viard successfully curated a collection of tweed that simultaneously stays contemporary and classic. But toooooo classic perhaps? Yeah maybe just a tad. A big tad.

Viard has definitely taken a step in the right direction with Spring 2020 but it still felt timid, safe. She’s merely tasted the edge of the Chanel comfort zone but it’s time to take a step beyond. Push and shove and huff and puff at the boundaries of tweed. Go all big bad wolf on our asses. Blow that shit down Virginie. You won’t. No balls.

In all seriousness though, Chanel has always played it pretty safe for the sake of classicism. I know that this collection was a RTW, but am I the only one who wants something a bit more adventurous from them? A little less tweed and a little more TWeEd. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see what Viard does with her Chanel. Hopefully the next time we see Chanel TweedTM it’s, less sarcastically, a huge shocker. Figures crossed.

I mean, afterall, c’est la nouvelle vague, bébé (shoutout Google Translate for always being there for me).