Where dramatic opera meets classy Chanel

The Paris Opera House, in June 2024, was borrowed for something that was not a musical act. The venue’s stage paved the way for CHANEL’s Fall-Winter 2024/25 Haute Couture Show. However even if there was no drama on stage, one was surely created by the maxi dresses, capes, and coats.

The first collection made by the team, after Virginie Viard’s departure, connected Chanel’s deep-rooted essence to the French theater. With Rare Bird’s Sympathy playing in the background, the baroque halls and stairs of the opera house were filled with a mix of flowy skirts and classic chanel tight-wear suits. Many of the outfits resembling dramatic costumes with some even featuring opera cloaks, imprint this drastic step into the audience’s minds and reestablishes Chanel’s prevalence in the fashion world while staying true to the intrinsic values of the fashion house.

The audience’s gaze was filled with the collection's risque outfits, and they were presented on a platter of Christophe Honoré’s set. The Opera House wasn’t chosen accidentally. “Chanel has been a Major Patron of the Paris Opera since 2023 <..> Gabrielle Chanel herself created the costumes for Le Train Bleu (1924) and Apollon Musagète (1928), too.” (Bateman, 2024) The dimly lit interior with candle-like lights illuminating the runway-made hallways of the opera house created a sense of classy secrecy around the sophisticated yet dramatic looks. A stage-inspired spotlight followed the array of suits, coats, jackets, and dresses, opening with Ayla Peterson in a white bodysuit and white opera cloak.

Look 1 (retrieved from Chanel)

This classic black and white look features a white bodysuit, with some extra fabric for texture above the waist area. The bodysuit is embedded with rhinestones and layered with a black opera cloak. Flowing widely to the ground and featuring puffy sleeves, the cloak resembles a costume, living up to the theme of the show. In the successful attempt to connect the house’s classy looks with the dramatic opera theme, there is a cropped jacket layer over the cloak. At the top of the cropped jacket sits a dramatic collar, softly resembling a classic Renaissance opera collar. The collar extends into the black bow on the back of the model’s slicked-back hairstyle - a connecting look on all the models. The look is completed by black open-toe heels. In the face of a dramatic outfit, the makeup on all models is kept simple.

Look 15 (retrieved from Chanel)

This next outfit features a twist on the classic Chanel suit. A white dress shirt cinched at the waist by a black ribbon resembles the classic Chanel suit coat, however, it once again features an opera collar as well as sleeves, puffy at the elbow level, the texture of the fabric similar to the collar. The bottom part of the shirt, under the belt, goes outwards, mirroring the opera cloak theme. The shirt extends onto a semi-wide, midi skirt. The skirt is intricately crafted from different bronze, gold, and silver pieces of fabric onto a black lacey base. The look is completed with the staples - black open-toe Chanel heels as well as a black bow on the back of the slicked-back hair.

Look 33 (retrieved from Chanel)

Discontinuing the pattern of black and white styles, this next look captures your attention with a floor-length coral coat. As opposed to the first one, this coat doesn’t widen out but offers a more straight cut to the ground. Underneath the coat, there is a little black dress, slightly resembling one of Chanel’s staples. This piece mirrors the opera aesthetic with a patterned collar, which is one-dimensional with the dress and thus presents a more sophisticated and modest look than the earlier collars. Moving down from the collar is a black sheer layer, connecting to a black shiny leather skirt of the dress, ending just above the knees. The black balance of the coral coat is continued with the staple black heels and ribbon, finishing the slick back hairstyle.

Look 39 (retrieved from Chanel)

Staying true to the opera cloaks, look 39 brings in another color dynamic. This time between black and light mint green. The look starts with a black tight shapewear underneath, matching the black open-toe heels and the ribbon on the back of the head. The shapewear is layered with a mint-green opera cloak. This time shorter - it ends just below the knees, and falls widely until then, starting just under the chest area. The top of the cloak is closed with the classic Chanel buttons. The top of the cloak features light mint green, black, and silver textured accents, in shapes resembling flowers. The top of the cloak also has black ribbons placed instead of the straps of the cloak, matching the ribbons at the back of the head.

These four looks as well as the rest connect the classic and comfortable style of Chanel with the drama of the opera, staying true to the house’s essence and elevating it to the Opera theme and the Parisian Opera House.

Bibliography

Bateman, K. (2024, June 25). Chanel took haute couture to the opera. ELLE. https://www.elle.com/runway/a61347682/chanel-fall-winter-2024-couture-review/