Chanel Took Haute Couture to the Opera
Guests received a box with chic little opera glasses as their invitation to Chanel’s fall 2024 haute couture show. It was a hint at what was to come: a fashion show where models would walk up the legendary stairs and around the baroque halls of the historic Palais Garnier in Paris.
Taking both literal and figurative inspiration from the opera house, the first look was a full-length opera cape complete with a theatrical ruffled collar. “Sympathy” by Rare Bird played—a slightly ironic choice for a fashion show given the lyrics. Next came a slew of classic Chanel tweed suits, each one made more glittery and glitzy to match the over-the-top opera interiors. There were pearls and crystals sewn on top, with jeweled camellias layered over sequins and crystal-trimmed necklines. Simply put, not your average skirt suits.
A skirt suit on the runway.
With news that former creative director Virginie Viard has left the French house, this collection served as the first designed by “the team” without her. And with that, still came many of the sartorial codes she’s played with over the past five years of her tenure, including an exacting take on ladylike dressing.
An overall theme of fashion for fashion’s sake and putting on clothes as an art form and performance could be felt throughout the show. After all, one blazer had massive puff sleeves that were straight out of Poor Things. Elsewhere, a jet black feathered cape came flecked with tiny bits of gold all over. Every single model wore a massive black bow on the back of their head—and the Chanel bride wore a white version. The show notes themselves referenced the performative element of the opera, “where everything is about glances, gazes and putting oneself on display.”
A Chanel bride.
French director Christophe Honoré designed the set inside the opera and as the models turned the corners of the historic halls. Some of them even overlapped, which created a cinematic feeling. There was certainly no shortage of costume-inspired dressing either. The corsets, tutus, and capes toward the end of the show had an element of playfulness. “In this institution, we see, we are seen, we experience emotions,” read the show notes. “It’s also a place for dance.” Chanel has been a Major Patron of the Paris Opera since 2023, Patron of the Paris Opera Ballet since 2021, and Patron of the dance season’s Opening Gala since 2018. Gabrielle Chanel herself created the costumes for Le Train Bleu (1924) and Apollon Musagète (1928).
The collection ended with the Chanel bride taking her own solo lap around the venue—this time dressed in an oversized white dress with puff sleeves, a jeweled floral bodice and a trail of tulle around the waist, an homage to ballerinas. For the first Chanel collection without Viard, the closing look may have been the most memorable—a nostalgic ’80s dream that had many waiting with bated breath to see exactly what’s coming. Regardless, the next chapter for the esteemed brand has quickly become one of the most-talked-about subjects at couture week. Suffice to say, it’s a conversation that’s going to keep us all guessing for now.