Virginie Viard presented the Chanel métiers d’art 2020/21 collection yesterday at the Chenonceau castle, a choice that seemed obvious: « Showing at the Château de Chenonceau, at the “Château des Dames”, was an obvious choice. It was designed and lived in by women, including Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici. It is a castle on a human scale. And Catherine de’ Medici’s emblem was a monogram composed of two intertwined Cs, just like that of Chanel » declared the designer.

In the grand gallery where the runway show took place, the black and white chequered motif on the floor was reminiscent of a life-size game of checkers, and appeared on sequinned mini-skirts, as well as a long skirt in a fringed geometric tweed patchwork worn with a black and white jacquard sweater. A long coat in black velvet opened to reveal a suit-body in pale tweed. The warm hues of a tweed cape echoed the famous tapestries of the castle, while the flowers from the two gardens, one created by Diane de Poitiers and the other by Catherine de’ Medici, located on either side of the castle, inspired the floral embroideries on the wide lapel of a jacket.

For this 2020/21 Métiers d’art collection, CHANEL’s artisan accomplices live up to expectations more than ever: a long black lace dress composed of lattices punctuated with studs, made by Lemarié; the top of a damask dress embroidered entirely by Lesage; the two-tone sparkling silver platform sandals and the tapered black boots with fold-over cuffs and high heels made by Massaro.