Discover Chanel‘s Spring Summer 2020 Couture collection, that was inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s childhood and her time at the orphanage of the ancient Cistercian Abbey of Aubazine – that shaped Gabrielle’s stylistic grammar of CHANEL, presented on Tuesday 21st January, during the ongoing Paris Fashion Week.
Couture Collections
“On straight dresses in two-tone wool or tweed, the flat pleats, braided belts sported high on the hip, collars in cotton piqué or Bertha collars embellished with embroidery echoing the paving stones or stained glass windows of Aubazine, evoke the attire of schoolgirls. Double-breasted pea coats with their tweed skirts share the same spirit.
Fastened with jewelled buttons set with stars or flowers, trimmed with braids, with a high or folded back collar, the suits in beige tweed are worn alternately with skirts that are flared or veiled in tulle. Sometimes emphasised with fine woven cords, in natural colours, they exude a countryside charm.
Graphic motifs inspired by the stained glass windows envelop a dress and suit entirely embroidered with matte pastel sequins, while paving stones in matte ivory sequins are embroidered over suits. The purity of lines is also sketched out over long coats: one in tweed finished with an embroidered flounced collar, others in crêpe completely adorned with an ecru floral guipure lace. Another, fastened with a Peter Pan and pelerine collar, is entirely woven from white plain-weave and gingham organza ribbons, forming a herringbone pattern. The freshness of gingham returns on a little two-tone dress in silk, sequinned over the back.
Gradually, the elegant austerity gives way to a graceful lightness: a large ivory taffeta cape over a navy blue taffeta dress, a tiered dress in crêpe enhanced with a trompe-l’oeil belt embroidered entirely with sequins by the House of Lesage worn with a bolero jacket with kimono sleeves, a top and skirt in ivory flocked silk embroidered with a matte sequin paving-stone effect. A full skirt in tweed is accompanied by a cropped jacket embroidered with tiny pieces of rhodoid, painted by hand like shards of stained glass window and a cape embroidered with motifs inspired by the paving stones at the abbey. A long skirt is paired with a black sequinned tweed blazer jacket with a Bertha collar in cotton piqué.“
Courtesy of ©CHANEL
