Keira Knightley Offers an Ode to Virginie Viard’s Chanel

While everyone else may be busily discussing who will get the plum (but weighty) top job at Chanel, Keira Knightley is looking back. The actress was spotted in a head-to-toe look from the brand, today at the Wimbledon Championships.

While walking around London (and in the royal box at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club) with her husband, the former Indie Sleaze rockstar James Righton, Knightley wore a look from Virginie Viard’s solo debut for the massive luxury label. First shown at the Grand Palais, the look is from Chanel’s cruise 2020 collection.

Largely white, the tiered dress features a sheer panel at the bottom as well as a one shoulder, sheer flounce at the top. It also features an alternate black ribbon off-the-shoulder strap for just the slightest coquette-ish touch.

Knightley styled it with simple, classic Chanel cap toe slingback shoes featuring a block heel and a small, full-brimmed boater hat that Gabrielle Coco Chanel might wear herself. She also carried one of the brand’s small, quilted leather flap bags.

The look as a whole, in fact, seemed more to the practical, easy Chanel before Karl vibe. There’s something distinctly 1920s or 1930s about the freedom of movement the garment allows. A woman-centric design as it has often been called, prizing ease of use and efficiency over adornment and restriction.

It all, ultimately, makes sense for Knightley who has been a face of the brand for nearly 20 years, first being signed as a face of Coco Mademoiselle. And who knows, maybe she’s trying to signal to the billionaire Wertheimer family, which owns Chanel, to keep the label going in this direction.