Strange! Chanel held its haute couture show on Tuesday, just three weeks after the sudden departure of creative director Virginie Viard after nearly 30 years with the brand.
Viard worked alongside the legendary Karl Lagerfeld for years, and took over after his death in 2019.
Last year he oversaw record sales of nearly $20 billion.
But months of trouble loomed, with front-rowers grimacing and whispers that his show was becoming repetitive, and in early June he was unceremoniously ousted.
Viard, 62, was not allowed to breathe his last on Tuesday.
There was no mention of him in the show notes, which said the latest collection was created by 150 artisans from the workshop located on Rue Cambon.
It was a typically sophisticated and dramatic collection, shown at the Opera Garnier, featuring medieval hats, evening dresses with puffed sleeves, matador costumes and a velvet tuxedo alongside the house’s classic tweeds – including a touch of Lagerfeld-ian vinyl.
Viard’s tenure looked to be coming to an end in May when a mid-season “cruise” show in Marseille failed to impress fans – the unusually cold weather on the Côte d’Azur didn’t help matters either.
A month later, his departure was announced in a much less formal way – the specialist press was informed about it at midnight.
Paris-based designer Lutz Huele told AFP that it was “literally an impossible task to replace one of the biggest and most loved designers at the biggest brand in the world.”
Discreet appearance
Viard’s takeover was seen as a temporary appointment at the time, though she was only the third creative director in Chanel’s 114-year history, after Lagerfeld and founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
Always dressed simply, in a T-shirt and black trousers, he was a much more discreet presence than “The Kaiser”, who was known for his provocative statements and whose shows were less spectacular than Lagerfeld’s lavish events.
Though critics sometimes derided her cuts, shoppers still flocked to Chanel stores — ready-to-wear sales rose 23 percent during Viard’s tenure.
“It highlights the fact that the brand is much stronger than the individual designer,” wrote Business of Fashion.
The fashion world is now turning to its favourite pastime – speculating on who will succeed.
Hedi Slimane (Celine), Sarah Burton, Marine Serre and Simon Porte Jacquemus are all considered as possible replacements.
Dita Von Teese
Discretion was also not exercised at another show on Tuesday, as France’s Alexis Mabille invited fans for a glass of champagne at Lido 2 Paris, the home of burlesque.
It was a classic gala soiree look with sophisticated evening dresses featuring lots of sequins, flowing gold and silver – some models were swinging a champagne glass on a string like a handbag.
And it culminated with the queen of striptease, Dita Von Teese, emerging from the ground inside a giant champagne glass.
“Our idea was to have a good time, enjoy ourselves and forget about everything that was happening around us for a few moments,” Mabille told AFP after the show.
Also in the audience was actor Jean-Christophe Bouvet, who played a troubled fashion designer in the Netflix hit film “Emily in Paris.”
“I’ve watched about 50 shows in three years,” he told AFP, adding that it gave him “a lot of inspiration” to work on this series.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)