What Virginie Viard tried to aesthetically and strategically apply to CHANEL’s heritage when she first became the House’s artistic director, she successfully continues now in the Fall 2020 Ready to Wear Show. Her vision of turning CHANEL into a more approachable, modern and wearable brand is now more than obvious, as it unfolds in a stylishly brave way that yet manages to keep the brand’s DNA intact.

Not all fashion aficionados agree on what the show drew its inspiration from, but judging by the crystal watery theme adorning the Grand Palais and the jockey boots gracing so many looks of the collection, it looks like Virginie Viard paid tribute to both the Parisian identity as defined by the river Seine and to Gabrielle Chanel’s love for horse riding, including its style context (which Karl Lagerfeld was also very keen on).

Embellished suit jackets, track-pant looking trousers inspired by jodhpurs, jockey silks, seven-league boots, double-breasted tweed jackets with admiral buttons, pirate-like shirts, tweed skirt suits, taffeta raincoats with interesting collars, Byzantine jewellery belts and necklaces, and many more fascinating garments including intarsia knits featuring cross embellishments, form a diverse but consistent collection suggesting a new way of fashion thinking. The idea is to give innate luxury the casual treatment, without compromising its quality and high-end status. Oh yes, being able to combine high fashion with the freedom to stroll around the city trouble-free and nonchalant is not the paradox it used to be.

Soft, confident and powerful. Virginie Viard reimagines fashion like a travel throughout the French Revolution, Industrial Age, and the Belle Époque, that winds up in a very real place.