Chanel Cruise 2020: Virginie Viard’s Brilliant Solo Debut

See the designer’s full debut solo collection, which paid homage to the maison’s rich and prolific history.

Chanel’s relationship with Cruise as an in-between season is a strong one; it was Karl Lagerfeld, during his time at Chanel, who pioneered destination runway shows in far-flung locales. Lagerfeld’s passing this past February brought the end of an era for the house, but as Virginie Viard, his successor as the house’s Artistic Director debuted her first solo collection today for Chanel Cruise 2020, she left the fuss in foreign countries and she kept it Parisian.

The show took place in the Grand Palais, the site of Lagerfeld’s last show for Chanel. And while Viard stuck to the brand’s bread and butter, tweed jackets and suits in iconic neutrals, she dipped her brush in something less muted with fuchsia and pastels on form-flattering, ankle-length dresses and crisp white skirts. Viard even continued Lagerfeld’s tradition of extravagant sets. This one? A beaux-arts train station, complete with a café.

Viard’s clearly drawing inside the lines for her first collection, and as a solid first go, we’d be within reason to set our expectations quite high for her next collections. Click through the slideshow below to see Chanel Cruise 2020.

Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel
Chanel Cruise 2020, Courtesy of Chanel

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