An expanse of white carpet, mirrored walls, and beige banquettes strewn with quilted cushions: The enveloping mise-en-scène at Chanel suggested a simulacrum of what the house’s haute couture clients experience behind closed doors at the Rue Cambon. We were in the Grand Palais, sure enough, but this hushed, draped so-called salon had been conjured into existence on an upper floor, the sense of the ritual of privacy and exclusivity underlined by the fact that so few had been invited.
The distinction between haute couture and ready-to-wear is sacred at Chanel, and the ambience around this collection was designed to assure the class of women who order at the house that the timeless values prevail. The in-house team—we are still waiting for the debut of Matthieu Blazy in October—had worked up a wintry theme, partly inspired (according to the house notes) by Coco Chanel’s love of the Scottish highlands.
That information accounted for the chunky treatments of winter-white and beige tweeds, the vague layered allusions to grouse-moor hunting jackets, and the grounding of walking boots throughout. It was less a cohesive storytelling collection, though, than a series of demonstrations of what Chanel’s textile and embroidery ateliers can do. Fluffy feather-and-tulle-embroidered capes imitated shearling, a full-length coat evoked a shaggy fur, and a swansdown flurry of snow rested on the shoulders of a narrow black tweed coat.
Chanel’s clientele come to the house for light evening fantasias. These were glimpsed among the white chiffon blouses, shredded-tulle maxiskirts, and underlayers of white guipure lace. In the haute couture salon, one imagines, customers are free to range across the options, picking, choosing, and reconfiguring these looks according to taste.
What it lacked, without the leadership of a sole designer, was a point of view strong enough to make women—and not only couture clients—want to change their whole outlook on the way they would like to dress. Nobody expects an in-house team to do that. But with Blazy waiting in the wings—having been given a good long time by Chanel to muster his ideas—the anticipation of a soon-coming revolution of that order couldn’t be higher.
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