Sixteen years on from their first Los Angeles runway show, the House of CHANEL took us back to the City of Angels this month with its Cruise 2023/24 runway presentation. 

Showcased on May 9, CHANEL Cruise 2023/24 delivered a fun collection that harkened back to the Super Era of Cindy, Linda, and Claudia. And paid tribute to the House’s impressive cinematic history. One that began with Coco Chanel’s first trip to California in 1931. Then continued with her creating clothes for films by directors like Jean Renoir and befriending actresses including Tilda Swinton. 

It wasn’t just from the Golden Age of Hollywood that Virginie Viard sought inspiration for this collection, however. It was also from the Venice Beach Boardwalk—a veritable melting pot of characters and an integral part of the Californian DNA. ‘Between a tribute to the glamour of great film stars and evoking the world of fun to be had with aerobics, sports, and roller skating,’ the CHANEL Creative Director said of her references for this collection. ‘[B]etween the dream on one hand and what you want to wear on the other, it’s all a question of balance’.

To this tune, there were sunset pastels and light-up heels. A nod to Eighties maximalism by way of leg warmers and rhinestone-embellished metallics. But there was also an otherworldly glamour in the air this season. Hollywood blow outs were balanced by beauty au naturale and long, layered necklaces were complemented by silver constellations, tracing their way across slinky evening gowns.

Staged in a Paramount Pictures Studios Lot, with stadium lighting and a roll call of models’ names emblazoned across sports screens, CHANEL Cruise 2023/24 was a spirited collection and one that felt inimitably LA. 

As the sun went down on Tinseltown, screen stars like Marion Cotillard took to the dance floor and native Californian Snoop Dogg serenaded the crowd of CHANEL Ambassadors and Friends of the House. 

The Los Angeles CHANEL Cruise Show Soundtrack is an aural testament to that buoyant mood.

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