Creative director of Chanel Virginie Viard showcased the brand’s haute couture autumn winter 2022 collection just outside of Paris yesterday. Undoubtedly, it’s a show that’s feminine with a capital F. Ladylike, delicate and nostalgic: could something so proper have modern appeal? It turns out it has just that, in spades. 

For autumn winter 2022, Chanel haute couture nodded to a 1930s silhouette, worn herself by Gabrielle Chanel in her hey-day, although it was contemporised so the drop-waists and close-on-the-body silhouettes looked cool rather than costume-y. It was also infused with a nod to 1970s dressing, thanks to the pointed collars that flourished on cropped jackets.

Speaking of the collection, Viard says, “There are suits, long dresses like Mademoiselle Chanel imagined them in the 1930s: fitted to the body even though they have strong shoulders here, and pleated dresses … And lace too, inlaid, reworked, not embroidered, but repainted. The palette consists of bright green, khaki, beige, pink, lots of black and silver.”

Unsurprisingly, the show nodded to tweed – a hallmark of the heritage design house that was given a new verve under the watchful eye of Karl Lagerfeld; the result was a play on masucline and feminine dressing, expressed through large men’s hats and capelines with very wide brims.

Perhaps it was the accessories that were most novel. Doe-eyed models descended the runway in metallic dress-coats, candy pink dresses and oversized bows. However, the result wasn’t contrived or doll-like – rather this was the kind of woman you see on the streets of Paris, the kind who induces a serious case of style-envy.

The collection nodded to equine style, too. Viard confirmed it was, in effect, a continuation of the last show, which opened with the equestrian Charlotte Casiraghi on horseback. The setting, the Étrier de Paris equestrian centre, only hammered home the theme. What truly appealed though, was the cowboy boots which were paired with elegant, ankle-grazing skirts that wouldn’t look out of place on Instagram, or Rue de Rivoli. Couture with modern leanings: it’s what we like to see. It was summed up perfectly by Viard, who says: “The clothes remain light, feminine, designed to be worn. I can’t see myself doing it any other way.”

Watch the full Chanel haute couture autumn winter 2022 show here: