As announced back in July, Chanel has flocked to the city of Manchester in the North of England to stage its annual Métiers d’Art collection. Previous locations for the celebration of the iconic French fashion house’s savoir-faire collection have included Moscow, Dallas, Rome, and Hamburg while last year’s showcase spectacular was held in Dakar. Following a show staged in Edinburgh back in 2012, Chanel has ventured back onto UK soil for 2023, welcoming the fashion pack into the Northern Quarter of Manchester. Staged on a cold and rainy December night, models paraded Virginie Viard’s latest creations up and down pub-lined Thomas Street, rocking an array of designs which paid homage to the Northern English city – from its mercantile history in textile manufacturing to its rich musical legacy.
Scroll further to read the opinions of theFashionSpot’s unfiltered forum members, regarding Virginie Viard’s latest outing as Chanel creative director:
“There are actually some cute pieces here and there.” [couturefan]
“This collection is pretty cohesive as far as silhouettes and material usage go. Usually Viard’s collections are a mish-mash of random crap. Usually a runway with looks of just only what could be salvaged. Viard finally put out a whole collection of non-ugly silhouettes. Chanel – of all brands – should never show a bad silhouette.” [Nimsay]
“It’s fine. I can see why longtime stans would hate post-Lagerfeld Chanel, but this is very much still Chanel.” [GoldenPetals]
“Can you image what Karl would have done if he were to present in Manchester? Chanel + football tackiness = yummy! Instead, we get this drab, vintage Burberry with Chanel tweed. Such a missed opportunity from Viard, again.” [RaisinBoy]
“It’s not my cup of tea but this is a good collection by Virginie’s standards. I just feel like we are missing the spirit of Métiers d’Art, which was really a bridge between couture and RTW.” [Lola701]
“Having all the looks paired with flat shoes is one of the vilest things I have ever seen in fashion. Disgusting. The silhouettes are definitely better but the prints and some colors choices are as always a disgrace.” [WAVES]
“To send the same cookie-cutter tweed suits they could very well have stayed in Paris. The only great Manchester thing here is Karen Elson walking for Chanel again.” [jeanclaude]
See all the looks from the Chanel Pre-Fall 2024 collection and join the conversation for yourself, here.
