Chanel Returns to Its Roots With Deauville References & Hats Galore

Fall 2024 has been the season of the hat—especially the statement hat, full of personality. And at Chanel’s latest runway show on March 5, spectators received a full dose standout headpieces. Creative director Virginie Viard went back to Chanel’s roots—all the way back to the 1920s, when Coco Chanel made her foray into fashion as a milliner in sunny Deauville, France, right on the picturesque beach lined with colorful umbrellas.

For the occasion, many of the models in the fall 2024 show wore wide-brim sun hats in delicate shades of baby pink, white, light mauve, and sandy gray. Topped off with logo brooches, the hats were paired with soft, languid suits that were less about holding structure and more about comfort. (“Nothing is more beautiful than freedom of the body,” Chanel herself once said.) Even the power suit-esque blazers and one leather jumpsuit came softened up, baggier and bigger.

For the fall 2024 collections in particular, designers have been deconstructing the classic suit in myriad ways (a nod to the death of office culture). Chanel’s take on ultra-soft, comfort suiting represented a similar notion, done with a different approach. Jackets were slouchier, pants wider and sweaters warmer, chunkier and thicker—accessorized with a cascade of crystal necklaces and a belt worn low on the hips for extra added flair. Why be constrained when you can be free?

Highlights of the collection included drop-waist skirts and cape-like blouses made of pastel rainbows of silk. Tweed newsboy caps that matched jackets and skirts were accented with silk scarves tied to the back of the hair. The 1970s-does-1920s references were undeniable, but there were also hints at 1940s style; especially through the puff-sleeve dresses with buttoned yokes, styled with ruched opera gloves. The nautical nod to Deauville came in through the details. Think: Chanel’s take on the classic fisherman sweater, but cinched with a logo belt. And it wouldn’t be a Chanel show without a dedication to bags. There were so many classic flaps in so many colors, some trimmed with chunky shearling.

With all the accents of baby pink and butter yellow—plus the dramatic loosening-up of silhouettes—fall 2024 aimed to take the classic Chanel aesthetic to a place that’s inherently younger and more contemporary. Denim, knits, and shearling jackets united for a collection that will undoubtedly sell well with the current Chanel diehards, who have found tons of inspiration in Viard’s work. Chanel herself would approve of such a collection.