Chanel’s Autumn/Winter 2024 Cinematic Romance

Chanel’s Autumn/Winter 2024 collection, infused with rich and ornate ensembles fit for a leading lady, honored French actress Anouk Aimée’s titular role as Anne in Une homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman).

The show started with a short film inspired by Une homme et une femme, in which Brad Pitt and Penelope Cruz recreated the roles of the widow and widower, Anne and Jean-Louis, who get carried away in a whirlwind romance in Deauville, a commune in the region of Normandy. Once the runway show commenced, the floppy pastel-colored sun hats, as regularly worn by Aimée’s Anne, were outfitted with austere black and grey trench coats and the classic flap bags designed with a chain strap. The elegant pastel shades also appeared in tailored skirt suits and, notably, in a pair of eye-catching pastel blue gloves. The flowy romantic silhouettes and nautical influences in the form of sailor sweaters transport the audience to the scenic ocean views of Deauville. 

Apart from the film, Deauville is also paramount to Chanel’s history as a fashion house, as Gabrielle Chanel opened her first boutique in the seaside town. Chanel’s style, as seen in the loosely belted looks formed by long coats, tweed, pullovers, and cardigans, was proudly highlighted.

“Deauville is where everything started for the house. 1912, the creation of her hat shop, and then very quickly the first clothes with their visionary, radical style. It’s where it all began for Gabrielle Chanel. This story is very close to my heart,” said creative director Virginie Viard in a press release.

With Chanel’s Autumn 2024 collection, Viard gives us a repose from the Metropolitan influences of Parisian style and introduces us to the graceful fashions of a Norman beach town influential to both Chanel and French cinema.