From Chanel’s 2023/24 Métiers d’art collection revealed in Manchester to Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton show in Shanghai, we’ve compiled a round-up of all the essential looks to watch out for from the latest collections.
Chanel
Chanel
Chanel’s 2023/24 Métiers d’art collection was presented to an audience of British fashionistas in North England’s stylish city of Manchester. A city that shaped a generation of music culture, “For me, Manchester is the city of music. It incites creation.” Said the brand’s creative director Virginie Viard, in the show notes.
The show took place on Thomas Street in the north of the city and was focused on feelings and emotions and a nod towards the swinging sixties. With tweed at the centre of this collection, it was reinterpreted across suits, bags, dresses and accessories through a colourful palette of salmon pink, pumpkin orange, apple green, mustard yellow, sky blue and red—strings of pearl-decorated garments and accessories with a playful yet opulent touch.
It was a collection that was faithful to the house codes but offered a modern twist with details such as chains at the bottom of jackets, contrasting inner fabrics, and multiple topstitched panels allowing for great freedom of movement – a celebration of Gabrielle Chanel’s own art of tailoring.
Ideas of Great Britain evoke wraparound skirts, miniskirts with godets, Bermuda shorts, shirts, and coat dresses, all featured in tweed, knitwear in Shetland and cashmere. Cuts are fitted, and skirt waists are worn slightly low on the hips.
Pleats, feathers and embroidery work, along with hats and jewelled buttons crafted by the Métiers d’art resident at le19M, enhance the allure of this collection. Teapots, vinyl records and cute flowers all add fun touches. The collection dares a certain candour with black Mary-Jane shoes. Jeans, leather, and knitwear, including babydoll nighties and strapless dresses, complete the ensemble, investing domains as varied as football, Manchester’s music scene or the English countryside.
With a vibrant sensitivity and musicality, the 2023/24 Métiers d’art collection evokes the ever-youthful love story between Chanel and Great Britain, an adventure that has lasted for over a century.
Dior
Dior’s Fall 2024 ready-to-wear collection debuted in New York City, paying homage to the Big Apple and its connections to France (the city was a gift from the French to the United States in the 19th century). In Christian Dior’s autobiography, the chapter dedicated to his Paris-New York trip opens up a dialogue between the style capitals, a connection that’s highlighted by Maria Grazia Chiuri in two key prints: the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, flourishing in large format on numerous models.
The bridge between both cultures is Marlene Dietrich, a charismatic, contrarian actress attached to Dior, in life and on screen. Maria Grazia Chiuri was inspired to build a collection that fuses the Dior silhouette with the diva’s phantasmagorical presence and boyish allure, with tweeds coming directly from a selection of English menswear fabrics. Marlene Dietrich’s masculine suits provoked scandal, asserting, let us not forget, a woman’s right to choose her attire as she pleases, a tie or a sleeveless vest, for instance: so many emblems that complement each other. Jackets are paired with wide-leg pants or below-the-knee pencil skirts.
Precious and light dresses recall the style of the 40s, giving a glimpse of the lingerie that turns out to be an essential part of the outfit. Fabrics such as hammered satin, crushed velvet and crepe are reinterpreted in a contemporary spirit. Some of the lace-encrusted slip dresses, often revealed beneath large, lined coats, are made from quilted nylon featuring the cannage motif. The embroidery evokes brooches and echoes the signature codes so dear to the founding couturier: the star, the lily of the valley, the clover and the bee. The lace collars become veritable structural intarsias. As for knitwear, a virtuoso level of inventiveness has allowed multiple facets of its extraordinary plurality to be developed.
Elie Saab
Elie Saab’s Pre-Fall 2024 collection, “Perfectly Marvelous”, celebrates the irresistible magnetism of the woman who wears the designer’s clothes. She is perfectly marvellous, effortlessly embracing a more glamorous life. The Elie Saab woman is never boring, in fact, she is quite the opposite: she bursts on the scene with bold vibrancy and colour. Saab was inspired by aspirational fashion editor Diana Vreeland and the China Red and vivacious Paradise Pink shades she often wore bring powerful life to more classic silhouettes in soft neutral beige wools.
Cool sculpted décolleté in magenta and nude accentuate emblematic Elie Saab silk gowns in dramatic a-symmetries. Large pinched pleats define the waistlines of structured peplum jackets and strapless A-lines while contrasting white stitches trace the hemlines of black tailored suits and skirts. Abstracted monograms appear as embroidered cuff sleeves and puff shoulder illusions. Adventurous patterns and scintillating shine command the evening as the Elie Saab woman continues to set la mode.
Daring black and white zebra prints stripe down plunging V-neck crepe tunics and into fun belle-bottom pants. Flared tulle cocktail dresses and modest slip gowns come into bloom in maximalist oversized florals in red, white, black and a touch of pink petaled outlines. Peep-toe platforms and woven stilettoed sandals elevate each silhouette into the echelons of charm and charisma.
Erdem
Erdem’s Pre-Fall 24 collection is inspired by opera singer Maria Callas, who, in character, had an electric capacity to project complex emotional states with her voice. Off stage, she wore her vulnerability in public. The collection tells the story of this contrast and the balancing act of control and passion, restraint and ferocity, image and expression.
The collection examines how Callas dressed and carried herself, at times deriving pieces from garments worn by the singer and at others taking volumes, details and motifs of the era as starting points. Structure, drapery, tailoring, and organic shapes are combined and contrasted to intriguing effect. There are late-50s and 60s silhouettes: cocoon shapes, boat-neck dresses and felted pea coats with voluminous backs. The feeling is decadent with a sharp edge, not unlike how some critics described why the voice of Callas was so memorable.
In several looks, there’s a tussle between austerity and playfulness that could almost be riotous or wild. A black dress is swathed with an oversized fuchsia bow. Monastic dresses have built-in bows and capes with jewel-encrusted shoulders. A cloqué gown with exaggerated bows on the shoulders feels elegant and exuberant. A black Duchesse dress with a structured bustier and waist has a sculptural quality. Knits with mint green draped skirts are casual and formal simultaneously.
Flower motifs, particularly roses, feature throughout the collection as symbols of adoration. On silk dresses, they appear blurred, as if caught in motion mid-flight, thrown from the audience to the star with rapturous applause. A long gown is entirely covered with hand-dyed applique roses in varying shades from red to pink.
Elsewhere, more subtle hints and echoes of adulation appear, with silk-printed roses beneath black tulle skirts and a black peplum suit jacket with hundreds of black crushed flowers that are almost camouflaged.
The collection has rich glamour; this is the wardrobe of a character who lived on stage and in the society limelight, dressed by the now-forgotten couturier Madame Biki, who happened to be Puccini’s granddaughter. The threshold between on and off-stage is thin and porous. Garments for performance can become garments for protection under the fierce gaze of the public eye.
Givenchy
Givenchy’s pre-fall collections for men and women showcase the house’s new elegance and new ease of dressing. The brand continues to build on the fluidity of dresses, as well as further exploring ideas of new formality as seen on the runway. With this collection, House expands on ideas gleaned from Hubert de Givenchy’s later collections, reworking them through a contemporary lens.
Two threads define the women’s collection: on one hand, languid, masculine volumes are reconsidered with a plunging neckline; on the other, tailoring propositions are waisted with slightly shrunken proportions. Miniskirts give power dressing a modern spin. Cocoon coats in double-face cotton echo those seen on the runway. Likewise, the iconic Givenchy trench is reconsidered with couture volumes in the back. A touch of archival elegance also infuses wardrobe essentials like blouses and trouser suits.
Flamboyant touches include jewel-like 4G buttons on tailoring. Hot pink and orange hues bring fresh energy to a predominantly neutral palette. Lightness comes through plays of transparency and archival polka dot motifs. For evening, the Little Black Dress rules: a double-draped back creates an element of surprise, while delicately ruched silk chiffon emphasises seduction with a dash of mystery. New this season is a graphic lace signature, panelled together with point d’espirit tulle on evening dresses and knitwear.
Men’s looks reflect the innate elegance of the House’s founder and its new formality. Floral graphics, reflecting Hubert de Givenchy’s love of gardens, unexpected colours and revisited classics comprise a throughline while nods to various subcultures inject looks with tension and modernity, such as a white tuxedo or a black and gold leather perfecto. Givenchy codes and savoir-faire are apparent through technical fabric developments and hand-embroidery. Wool suiting fabric is treated with resin to make it wind- and waterproof; hand-applied flowers embellish machine-embroidered tulle.
Loewe
Scales and proportions are on the mind of Loewe’s creative director, Jonathan Anderson of late: big and small, high and low, points of view defining perceptions, and perceptions drawing silhouettes. This is highlighted in the fall 2024 pre-collection, which combines rawness with playfulness. The collection is presented with a campaign shot by Juergen Teller featuring friends of the houses, including Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Dan Levy, Enzo Vogrincic, Kit Connor, Lesley Manville, Sophie Wilde, and 070 Shake, as well as a special guest appearance by Jonathan Anderson’s nephew, Alfie Anderson.
Shot amongst the miniaturised scenarios of Bekonscot Model Village, the world’s oldest original model village, built in 1929, it features a varied cast of artists and creatives in unexpected scenarios. The childish playfulness of the situations is offset by the dry, puzzling expressions of the subjects. Sophie Wilde leans against the walls of a castle, holding a denim version of the Squeeze bag in her hand. Alison Oliver sinks in a pond, or stands within a fortress, showing off the Flamenco Purse. Enzo Vogrincic barely balances over the railway tunnel, suited in corduroy and holding the Flamenco Backpack. Lesley Manville has her hands occupied with a giant sunflower and the Squeeze bag, while 070 Shake looks at the camera with a miniature deer on top of her head.
Poses and situations are both crude and whimsical, reflecting and augmenting the lines of the Loewe Fall Winter 2024 precollection, a mix of cropped and stretched-out shapes, outsized bows, and sculptural draping, with iconic Loewe bags, such as the Puzzle and the Hammock. The Puzzle Fold tote, the Flamenco Purse and the Squeeze bag come in malleable, soft iterations and are pictured as still lifes in miniature settings to highlight scale. Juergen Teller’s eye brings a documentary feel and dry humour to the endeavour, further positioning Loewe as a visual language rooted with a dash of magic.
Louis Vuitton
Nicolas Ghesquière pursues an exploration that caps ten years of creativity at Louis Vuitton, and this season presents the Prefall 2024 collection with a new Voyager show in Shanghai.
Echoes of earlier designs punctuate a decade in fashion, reflecting the roots of a noble French fashion House and the distinctive emblems that make it unique. Today, they are renewed with unbridled freedom of tone and form. An exuberance of colour and joyfulness salutes the tremendous stylistic vitality of China’s youth, and for this collection, the House teamed up with the young contemporary artist Sun Yitian, whose charming, figurative bestiary enlivens contrasted silhouettes. Short confronts long. At times, they unite, conjoining refinement and audacity. Oppositional prints make for happy marriages. Classicism goes tangential, giving outfits a charming zeal. In this fast-paced collection, accessories punctuate the narrative, recounting the innovative saga behind the great trunk-maker in their own way. The Petite Malle, the Twist, the OnTheGo, the Diane, the Loop, the Side Trunk, the Atlantis, the Noé, the Cannes, and the Camera Box — as well as the Capucines and the Dauphine — open fresh chapters and return in flexible versions. Meanwhile, the Slim Trunk joins the illustrious ranks of the Maison’s bags, timeless witnesses of a long history that continues to unfold.
The collection was being presented at the Long Museum in Shanghai, which was founded by husband-and-wife collectors Mr Liu Yiqian and Ms Wang Wei, and is named for its elongated funnel shape. The largest private museum in China, it holds the country’s richest collection, including traditional, modern and contemporary Chinese art, Chinese revolutionary art, and contemporary works from Asia, Europe and the United States.
Max Mara
Max Mara’s Pre-Fall 2024 collection, Magic Circus, celebrates old favourites, giving them new life through fresh colours and materials. The Whitney Museum of American Art is a Max Mara favourite, and one of the most beloved pieces in its collection is Alexander Calder’s “Cirque Cader”. The elaborate troupe of ingeniously articulated performers and hundreds of props, including nets, flags, carpets, lamps and musical instruments, are recently restored and redisplayed, all beneath the towering masts of the big top with its jaunty pennants.
Made from humble wire, wood, metal, cloth, cork and string, each piece generates character and charm. Calder’s performances were the talk of Paris and his audiences included Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, and Marcel Duchamp. “Cirque Cader” speaks of the frisson of the live performance, the first night, the energy of the applause, the reason why the rentrée is so thrilling.
Max Mara’s materials for this collection are richer than Calder’s, but every look brings to life a personality, echoing the individual panache of the ringmaster, the strong woman, Pierrot, acrobat, and conjurer.
In red, white, camel and black, there are leopardine prints, audacious stripes, distinctive spots and the odd star. The look is leggy, bold and showy: tiny twill shorts with a pannier construction, a mini pareo to wear with a mannish blazer tucked in. A poplin shirt dress with pie crust frill to voluminous the sleeve, a one-shouldered asymmetric combination and a strictly tailored coat dress with a flirty skirt, a trapeze-shaped organza trench coat, and a bib-fronted micro-combination all beg to be worn with this season’s strappy silver Mary Janes.
And why wait till the leaves turn brown before you can wear these looks? There are plenty of pieces to want now and wear now, including smart summer dresses for the city and collectable T-shirts with flamboyantly drawn figures from the big top.
