Courtesy of CHANEL
The Chanel Resort 2025 show in Marseille welcomed the arrival of the Olympic flame to France, and called back to Coco Chanel’s first vision for the fashion house.
Chanel isn’t new to luxury’s trend of taking its resort and Metiers d’Art collections to far-flung corners of the world. The fashion house might actually be considered a front-runner, showing everywhere from Senegal, Monaco, Mexico, and Los Angeles, California in the past few seasons alone. This time, for their Resort 2025 show, creative director Virginie Viard selected a destination that wasn’t too far from its home base: Marseille, the French city that most recently heralded the arrival of the Olympic flame from Greece at its ports.
But its symbolism was much more layered than just that; Viard found that while the city doesn’t have a direct connection to Gabrielle Chanel per se, it spoke to the French savoir-faire that she posited through her offerings of a sportier, more relaxed feeling in women’s ready-to-wear. Vogue.com’s chief critic Sarah Mower said it best: Marseille presented “Chanel as a cultural patron, playing the role of a quasi-national ambassador for modern French society; Chanel as part of the fabric of everyday contemporary life, with a wardrobe to match.”
And Viard’s collection reflected exactly that, with sporty pieces to play in, saunter in, and trollop in over sandy beaches. There was the white hooded one-piece swimsuit finished with contrast stitching and a house-coded black velvet bow; the black tubular matching set with triangular slivers of appliqué peeking out from underneath; and the bookending slew of looks in all-white, airy Provence lace.
There was also the suggestion of a ’60s revival, in modish minis, shift dresses, and carcoats with tile-embellished pockets. Leisurely jumpsuits and matching sets came in a print that at first glance might have come across as a paisley but turned out to be swirling fishes over light-as-air sheer fabric.
And the piece that had Viard the most excited? “The comeback of the cycling shorts,” she said, playfully positing in the pressroom debrief post-show: “Who’s in?” It didn’t take long for long-time muse of the brand and actor Lily-Rose Depp to join the charge, and it’s no surprise if her Pinterest-viral street style has anything to say for it. “I’m a fan,” she chimed. “When you’re packing for a vacation or something, you want to have a few pieces that can go day or night.”
At the show held on the roof terrace of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse building, Depp was among a riveting front row of stars, including actors Marion Cotillard, Tessa Thompson, Sadie Sink, and Younjung Go, model Caroline de Maigret, and more.
