Photo by Tim Regas
Fashion has some serious transportive magic. In one outfit a person can have a designer shoe-clad foot in Paris and the other in Los Angeles.
Inside the gates of the iconic Paramount Studios, models walked the makeshift catwalk of the Chanel Cruise 2024 runway show in sneakers and leg warmers.
Chanel is the latest luxury brand in the past couple years to make Los Angeles center stage for its latest collection. You may remember Versace’s Fall/Winter 2023 show at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Celine’s head-nod to the late aughts at the Wiltern, Dior Men’s ocean-blue runway in Venice Beach, and Gucci’s Love Parade. But where Gucci’s take on “going Hollywood” was staging the show publicly on the star-engraved Walk of Fame (with some famous names like Jared Leto and Macaulay Culkin modeling the looks), Chanel took a different star-studded approach: an exclusive A-list guest list in a private, sealed off location.
Paramount Studios’ tan arch felt like the gates of Emerald City, admitting entry to a procession of black SUVs. These modern-day carriages carried the glitterati of Parisian fashion, A-list celebrities, and influencers with their arms sticking out to take selfies. They promenaded on, as screaming fans with signs flanked writers still on strike after hours. But you did not need to pass this parade to know that Chanel Cruise 2024 was in town “one night only!” Pastel billboards boasting a top-billed guest list were plastered all over tinseltown days prior.
Granted, this is not Chanel’s first dalliance with the city of dreams. Karl Lagerfeld debuted a cruise collection inside a hanger of the Santa Monica Airport. Virginie Viard practically left a tweed-coated Easter Egg about staging a show in Los Angeles, when Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection’s backdrop spelled out the brand name in capital letters in a similar font to the Hollywood Sign. But taking it back even further, Coco Chanel herself had a brief collaboration with MGM Studios (Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer), designing costumes for a few films, including Tonight or Never and Palmy Days.
To mark the modern Chanel-Hollywood affair, I decided to wear an outfit during a day out in Beverly Hills reminiscent of the Chanel Cruise 2024 theme, while including classic Chanel motifs. This satin white jacket lined with pearls head-nods to Coco Chanel’s classic layered pearl necklace. What makes it more special: it was my mom’s outerwear in the nineties. When paired with these black biker shorts, it ties in with the gymcore seen in Chanel’s most recent collection.
The black vest paired on top of the shorts ties the jacket and bottoms together for a more relaxed take on the tuxedo aesthetic. Who needs a bow tie, when I can opt for a rosette choker, a major trend at the moment and a distant cousin to Chanel’s camellia! Finally, perusing vintage and recent Chanel ad campaigns led me to sport these socks under black slingback kitten heels.
Keeping it Krischic,
Kristin Vartan
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Photos by Marigoround
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