Inside Chanel’s finale for Paris Fashion Week 2022: a show filled with iconic tweeds and florals by Virginie Viard and inspired by Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s time in Scotland

Mar 12 , 2022

A model presents a creation of French fashion house Chanel’s autumn/winter 2022 ready-to-wear collections during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, on March 8. Photo: Xinhua

Viard, who replaced Karl Lagerfeld after his death in 2019, explored the Coco Chanel’s later life in Scotland, where she was the Duke of Westminster’s mistress in the 1920s

Celebrities including Venus Williams took in the autumn/winter collection of boxy jackets, skirt suits and woollen styles in pink, burgundy and blue, presented at the Grand Palais Éphémère

Chanel took guests, including Venus Williams, on a journey of discovery inside the Grand Palais Éphémère on Tuesday, March 8, to the landscapes and colours of the Scottish countryside. On the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the runway saw an ode to tweed – an exploration of the history and allure of the fabric now synonymous with the Parisian stalwart.

Gleaming styles evoked the colours of the actual River Tweed that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England, a river that gave the storied fabric its name and that inspired house founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

A models presents a creation from the autumn/winter 2022-23 women’s collection by French designer Virginie Viard for the Chanel fashion house during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, on March 8. Photo: EPA-EFE

The presentation of the women’s collections at Paris Fashion Week ran from February 28 to March 08. Photo: EPA-EFE

“We followed the footsteps of Gabrielle Chanel along the River Tweed, to imagine tweeds in the colours of this landscape,” said Viard of the collection. Thus the designer, who replaced Karl Lagerfeld following his death in 2019, continued her creative journey through the life and inspirations of the house founder. In previous seasons, that has included a collection dedicated to the orphanage at which Chanel grew up.

A refined monochrome look features in Chanel’s presentation during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, on March 8. Photo: EPA-EFE

A pink coat tops off this look for Chanel’s presentation during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, on March 8. Photo: EPA-EFE

On Tuesday, it was a chapter tracing the later years of the fashion icon, when she lived and stayed in Scotland, and “would gather ferns and bouquets of flowers to inspire the local artisans for the tones she wanted”.

Chanel’s autumn/winter 2022-23 women’s collection drew on Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s time in Scotland, where she got inspiration from flowers. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tweed has become synonymous with Chanel, and it featured strongly in the brand’s autumn/winter 2022-23 women’s collection by French designer Virginie Viard during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, on March 8. Photo: EPA-EFE