Virginie Viard is stepping down from her position at Chanel after working with the French fashion house for almost three decades. She took over as creative director in 2019 following the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, who had chosen her as his successor due to their close working relationship. A new designer has not been named to take over her role so far.
Viard aimed to bring a youthful dimension to the Chanel woman and drew inspiration from rock music for her collections. For instance, her recent Métiers d’Art 2024 collection in Manchester was influenced by her appreciation for the city’s music culture. Tatler reflects on the five distinctive styles that Viard introduced at Chanel.
’80s silhouettes
Chanel Métiers d’art 2024 collection designed by Virginie Viard (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Chanel Cruise 2024 collection created by Virginie Viard (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Virginie Viard was greatly influenced by the 1980s, as evidenced by her frequent use of silhouettes, styles, and colour palettes from that era in Chanel’s runway collections. At the Métiers d’art 2024 show in Manchester, shoulder-heavy silhouettes in knit finishes, layered chain jewellery, and slim loafers and flats were prominent, blending women's workwear with alternative aesthetics. The Chanel Cruise 2024 show in Shenzhen featured whimsical patterns and jewel tones in coats with popped collars, heavy aviator sunglasses and a sporty edge.
Shorts over skirts
Chanel Cruise 2025 collection designed by Virginie Viard (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Chanel Métiers d’art 2024 collection designed by Virginie Viard (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Viard demonstrated that Chanel could have a more casual feel to luxury and often included a pair of shorts or two in her collections. For the recent Chanel Cruise 2025 collection, she presented knitted short shorts in neutrals and summery shades of blue—a playful choice in line with quiet luxury trends.
She also showed longer shorts at the Métiers d’art 2024 show with boyish suits that blended retro and modern styles.
Edgier tweed
Chanel Cruise 2024 collection (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Chanel Haute Couture autumn-winter 2024 collection (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Her Cruise 2024 collection featured tailored jumpsuits in neutral checkered tweed, juxtaposed with bolder tweed patterns on the pockets, collars and shoulder patches.
At Chanel’s Haute Couture autumn-winter 2024 show in Paris, Viard again mixed different patterns. For instance, she created three-piece skirt suits with busy tweed patterns in similar colours that reminded one of television static.
Long bodices
Chanel Métiers d'art 2023 collection (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Margaret Qualley in a dress from Chanel’s Haute Couture spring-summer 2024 dress at the Cannes Film Festival this year (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Throughout Viard’s five years as creative director, she repeatedly designed garments with a longer torso in a nod to style trends in the 1920s and 1980s.
Viard experimented with the dress and trousers combination at the Métiers d’art 2023 collection at Dakar, emphasising the length of the ensembles with long necklaces and earrings.
Chanel brand ambassador Margaret Qualley recently wore a dress from Chanel’s Haute Couture spring-summer 2024 collection to the Cannes Film Festival. It featured a long bodice that turned into a layered skirt, giving it a ballerina-meets-flapper feel.
Modern bows
Chanel spring-summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Chanel Haute Couture spring-summer 2023 collection (Photo: courtesy of Chanel)
Bows were a huge fashion trend in 2023, thanks to the rise of coquette and balletcore trends, but the motif has always been in line with Chanel’s design codes that include pearls, beads and chains.
Viard gave her own spin on the sweet style and executed them in black and white: for her spring-summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection, she applied them on gloves, shoes and hair accessories for a feminine touch paired with tougher leather looks. For her Haute Couture spring-summer 2023 collection, she was more experimental with bows, accessorising ensembles with men’s bowties.
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