Chanel's Métiers d'Art 2020 collection reinforces Coco's house codes

Chanel presented its Métiers d’Art collection in Paris on Wednesday. For her first high-craft outing for the maison, creative director Virginie Viard leaned heavily on the house codes—camellias, tweeds, layers of chain-link necklaces and pearls, and highly wearable suiting. Titled, "31 Rue Cambon", the address of Chanel's legendary Parisian store, the collection was a safe return to the brand's hallmarks, especially after previous outings that saw Karl Lagerfeld looking to Egypt and Hamburg for inspiration. The show's set, co-designed by Sofia Coppola, was made to evoke Coco Chanel's private apartment. Gold birdcage handbags cleverly nodded to the Mademoiselle's real decor. Ahead, every look from the collection.

Inside the chilly Grand Palais, guests discovered a series of salons decked out in the style of Gabrielle Chanel’s private apartment, which has been preserved and can be viewed by appointment only. Models walked down an oversize reproduction of the mirrored staircase where she liked to perch unseen during her fashion shows.

As for trends, technically the Métiers d'Art show is a pre-fall collection, offering a glimpse of the way you can expect the brand to move forward in 2020. As with much of the fashion industry, suiting remains a key theme — both skirt sets and silky high-waisted trousers. Viard continued her offering of fitted leggings, debuting a stirrup style worn with the brand's iconic cap-toe pumps. And, it seems low-rise waistbands may be poised to make a return as many of the skirts and pants on the runway sat lower on the hip than is the norm for the industry these days. Accessorized with the layered chain necklaces and glittery belts from the runway, the effect is unsurprisingly quite Parisian — quite Coco. Viard's long tenure with the brand makes her deftly able to envision just what it would look like should a young Chanel invite friends to 31 Rue Cambon in 2019. Surely, sweatshirts and mini bags would be involved.