Once a portal to the rest of the world through its lively port, Marseille is a city steeped in reverie. Regarded as the beating heart of the Mediterranean in Southern France, its amalgam of culture and natural beauty rightfully seized the attention of CHANEL’s creative director, Virginie Viard, for Cruise 2024/2025. Her feat with this collection? Translate this locale’s winsome sense of possibility into the ultimate holiday wardrobe.
“The sun, architecture, music and dance: Marseille has a very strong sense of freedom,” she said of the collection. “I was inspired by the codes of lifestyle, of everyday life and by all the things that invite movement. The sea and the wind made me want to play with wetsuits.”
Held on the rooftop of Le Corbusier’s Cité radieuse, the show’s seaside setting gave way to some mercurial weather and powerful gusts—the very forces that inspired Viard’s designs as she channelled the city’s vigour.
Down the runway, inspiration took aquatic form in diving hoods adorned with press studs—an emerging signature for the house—affixed to an aniseed-green skirt suit that opened the show. Crochet separates that epitomised the Cruise season followed closely, all embellished with a feast of thematic jewels whimsically reminiscent of fishing nets, shells and a spectrum of pearls.
Softened lines and breezy fabrications evoked feelings of languid days by the pool, with even tailored pieces intentionally relaxed for maximum leisure. Playing into the more intrepid parts of life by the water, Cruise 2024/2025 dove deep beyond the water’s placid surface, concocting neoprene-like jersey, terry-towelling, waffle fabrics and utilitarian-like details in drawstrings and zippers inspired by scuba gear. Certain silhouettes, emphasised in varying iterations, made a particularly compelling case for a sunny sojourn, including Bermuda shorts that skimmed the knee, ultra-high bloomers, trapeze dresses, and oversized outerwear. Viard also emphasised the power of layering with shirt collars, French cuffs and jackets unexpectedly employed throughout the collection.
Elsewhere, swimwear was the catch of the day. From flattering briefs to sophisticated one-pieces, this season’s offering marks a welcome shift from minimalism to unapologetic statement pieces as dynamic as the rest of your wardrobe.
“Marseille is a city that puts me in touch with my emotions,” she explained. “I tried to capture its power of attraction, its breath of fresh air, and to convey the energy that reigns there… You couldn’t ask for a better backdrop to a runway show than the Cité radieuse.”
Ahead of the Cruise 2024/2025 show, British photographer Jamie Hawkesworth embarked on a special project titled ‘Portraits of Marseille’. For this, he immersed himself in the streets of the city, capturing its essence through spontaneous photographs and portraits of locals.
These photographs will be part of the exhibition “Marseille, 08.03.2024 – 12.03.2024”, on display from May 3rd to May 12th at the Cité radieuse.
This story originally appeared on GRAZIA International.