Hollywood Escapism Takes Front and Centre Stage

FASHION

Jun 21

Written By Simone Taylor

At Chanel’s 23/24 Cruise Collection

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Advertised via movie billboard posters and presented at the Los Angeles Paramount Headquarters, Chanel’s 23/24 Cruise Collection is all Hollywood glitz. With its gold and glitter motifs, the collection reflects the frivolity, wealth, and jet-setting “where shall we go to next?” attitudes of the onscreen elite.

But more than just an ode to the Golden Age of cinema, creative director Virginie Viard draws inspiration from seemingly any and everywhere. She cites being inspired by 20s and 30s glamour alongside 70s and 80s rhythm, with not just one, but all decades taking centre stage. And if this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is - with classic tailored suits, flowing bohemian and flapper-esque dresses, aerobic wear, extreme Barbiecore, and even skate-punk, all making an appearance on the runway.

Her wide references are more than just a timely reference to the upcoming Barbie movie (Margot Robbie is, of course, seated front row), and the many iterations of Mattel’s dream girl. With its deliberate indecisiveness towards a particular time or place, Viard’s collection represents escapism at its best. Her decade-spanning influences suggest that maybe it’s not the destination that’s actually material, but the mere desire to escape reality.

In Viard’s own words, her flamboyant designs (complete with sequins, hotpants, and sunsetgradients) reflect her want to create, “a voyage, a light-hearted and happy fantasy.” And it’s poetic that she does so in a cruise collection - the kind added to the biannual fashion calendar to cater to wealthy patrons in need of holiday apparel when avoiding their seasonal winter.

But even with its girlypop glam, the collection hints at a deeper awareness of the reality it wishes to run away from. Viard constructs a sense of eerieness that juxtaposes her Barbie-pink models, be it through the gloomy monochromatism and use of negative space on the runway, or the swelling clouds on the projector behind. The same is seen in the clothes, where roller rink outfits are in all black instead of their usual 80s garish colouring, and bohemian, flowing skirts are paired disruptively with futuristic metallic leathers. Even the contrast of looks, ranging from golden bikini top and rainbow bejewelled bucket hat to a traditional black-and-white pantsuit, creates an element of visual tension.

The result is a collection that is both deliberately carefree and somberly self-aware. Hollywood escapism serves as the perfect symbol, where Viard both celebrates and satirises the fantasy of cinema. The versatility of her looks both draw on historical trends in their own right, whilst also paying homage to Barbie herself - the epitome of an out-of-touch subject in a perfect dream world (fittingly, the choice between this and the ‘real’ words seems to be a central theme in the upcoming film). At Chanel’s 23/24 Cruise Collection, seasonal travellers can make the choice to step onto a boat or plane - or even through the screen - to escape to the halcyon years of, well, whenever.