Yesterday, it was reported Chanel’s revenue and profit increased by double digits last year as the storied French fashion house benefited from higher prices and strong demand for its ready-to-wear and accessories.

Virginie Viard has been the creative force behind Chanel since 2019, following the passing of the late Karl Lagerfeld. To state theFashionSpot’s forum members have encountered a love/hate relationship with the French designer, who began her career at Chanel as an intern for haute couture embroidery in 1985 would be an understatement. Viard’s most recent collection for Cruise 2025 was staged in the port city of Marsielle in Southern France, with forum member Frederic01 commenting: “This is shockingly bad. Even by Virginie Viard’s standards. Emperor’s new clothes though, this will sell like hotcakes!”. Chanel product was indeed selling like hotcakes throughout 2023, with revenue increasing 16% to a staggering $19.7 billion. Evidently someone is doing something right.

Revisit the Cruise 2025 Chanel collection below:

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:

“Their brand is too strong. 16% increase in sales. Virginie Viard is never leaving.” [plentyofthorns]

“I AM LIVING FOR THAT SALES INCREASE. It made laugh so hard at the gym. This is the product that all these morons who are buying Chanel deserve.” [helmutnotdead]

“These clients are lemmings, every one of them…” [StylishCynic]

“I mean, Chanel is more than Virginie’s collections. And even if I’m not a fan of her clothes and accessories, their beauty and jewelry entities are still consistent.” [Lola701]

“Wow +16% in 2023 is CRAZY. And double digit growth in RTW? What are Chanel clients smoking?” [Creative]

Share your own thoughts on Chanel’s impressive revenue increase over on theFashionSpot forums, here.

The post Forum Members React to the News of Chanel’s 16% Revenue Increase to $19.7 Billion appeared first on theFashionSpot.

Not even dismal weather was enough to dampen the spirits of the fashion pack earlier today, as they descended upon Marseille to bare witness to Virginie Viard’s latest Chanel collection for the Cruise 2025 season. Models (including Viard muses Loli Bahia and Vivienne Rohner) roamed the rooftops of the ‘Cité Radieuse’ (a post-war residence built between 1947 and 1952 by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and one of Marseille’s most iconic buildings). Under blustery and gloomy skies, front row attendees like Lily-Rose Depp and Charlotte Casiraghi sat and watched as Viard’s lineup went by, with the storied French fashion house’s creative director inspired by every element the majestic port city in Southern France has to offer – the sun, architecture, music and dance. Hoodies were layered under pastel tweed suits, a number of chic swimwear pieces made an appearance, CC-clad scuba dresses too, and the knitwear seemed as light-as-air.

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:

“This is shockingly bad. Even by Virginie Viard’s standards. Emperor’s new clothes though, this will sell like hotcakes!” [Frederic01]

“How does Virginie Viard still have a job? This is a performance based position in which you are judged on your ouput and every collection is seemingly worse than the last. The entire brand direction under her leadership has become tepid, uninspired, dowdy. They’re clothes for wealthy old ladies with no taste.” [signifier]

“I say it every time, but everything looks so HEAVY. How did Karl get everything (well… most things) to look so LIGHT?” [blueorchid]

“Next level tragic. It has to be difficult to come up with something as bad as this, not even on purpose, not even trying. The clothes are so ill-fitting.” [Creative]

“The weather felt as depressed and miserable with the show as I did.” [GERGIN]

“It’s really a talent to produce something so frumpy and ill-fitting while having access to the best atelier in the world. She is the worst when it it comes to proportions.” [avonlea002]

“Watching the livestream, I see that these clothes look even worse in motion. Everything fits/drapes so poorly: stiff when it’s supposed to be floaty, droopy when it’s supposed to be structured, botched proportions. Again, Virginie’s collections would work if she actually had a technical eye.” [LadyJunon]

See all the looks from the Chanel Cruise 2025 collection and join the conversation, here.

The post Forum Members Review Virginie Viard’s Marseille-Staged Chanel Cruise 2025 Show appeared first on theFashionSpot.

Kicking off the final day of Paris Fashion Week, Virginie Viard presented her Fall 2024 collection for Chanel earlier today. A lineup rich with Parisian influences featuring renowned Chanel tweeds, belted coats and blazers paired with oversized headwear – all the while inspired by the French seaside resort of Deauville. In a love letter to the French commune, Deauville was of course where Gabrielle Coco Chanel opened a boutique in 1913. On the boardwalk-inspired runway right in the heart of Paris, models like Gigi Hadid and firm Viard favorites Rianne van Rompaey and Vivienne Rohner sported oversized floppy straw hats and new variations of Chanel’s iconic flap handbags. Prior to models hitting the boardwalk, a short film starring Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz opened the show.

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpot’s forum members:

“The hats and boots only made it worse.” [Mrs.T]

“Virginie Viard’s Chanel is so limited. This is giving more Loewe pre-Jonathan Anderson than Chanel. The clothes are not beautiful nor flattering.” [tourbillions]

“Vile. One of Viard’s worst collections indeed (not that the rest were good by any mean). I’m shocked bosses at Chanel are OK with her shows. This brand has gone from the top of the top to the most absolute irrelevance. I am sorry for Virginie, because she’s lovely, but she has no talent to be a creative director.” [Creative]

“I am so confused. Where is this frumpy woman going in a sun hat, all these heavy layers, and what could only be described as boots for an Arctic hooker? Explain Virginie! EXPLAIN!” [VogueDisciple93]

“The big hats just don’t work well with most of the outfits, and the rest is as stale as the previous ones.” [JohannesL]

“This was paaaaainful to watch. I couldn’t even finish. But looking the photos now I rest assured that I didn’t miss anything. So uninteresting, unflattering, tacky, stuffy… and the hats were hideous!” [Ihhbl]

“How can Chanel have been so bad for so long without change? The show has become a parody of itself and the butt of all jokes, season in season out. There is no excuse when you have the resources that Chanel has. Imagination and creativity are the only limitations at a house as big as Chanel and the person at the helm has none. Those looks were quite frankly, hideous.” [signifier]

“She tamed her usual ugliness, however that doesn’t make a good or even interesting collection.” [yslforever]

See all the looks from the Chanel Fall 2024 collection and join the conversation, here.

The post Forum Members Review Virginie Viard’s Deauville-Inspired Fall 2024 Chanel Collection appeared first on theFashionSpot.

All eyes remain on Virginie Viard as she continues to find her way at Chanel following the passing of Karl Lagerfeld. With the exception of Kristen Stewart‘s Spring 2020 campaign, Chanel’s recent ads have enthralled us all. Melodie McDaniel is the brand’s latest campaign photographer of choice capturing Anna Ewers, Blésnya Minher, Gigi Hadid, Mona Tougaard, Ola Rudnicka, Pan Haowen, Rebecca Leigh Longendyke along with Vittoria Ceretti sporting Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2020 collection.

Our forum members definitely weren’t feeling the campaign. “Cheaper than Zara and Mango,” voiced TaylorBinque.

“When Zara releases the low-cost versions of these clothes, I bet they’ll look more luxe in their pictures,” echoed kokobombon.

“I wouldn’t even have done a campaign if it was gonna be a hot mess like this,” GERGIN chimed in.

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Kimihiro wasn’t especially impressed, either. “Using the Chanel staircase is cheap and looks like an act of desperation. I’d rather have them recreate that in an abstract manner if they wanna stick to that ‘concept’. The other problem, of course, is the clothes, but oh well.”

“This looks truly awful. Not worthy of the Chanel logo at all,” declared anlabe32.

“Worst Chanel campaign ever,” added burbuja8910.

See more from Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2020 campaign and join the debate here.

The post Melodie McDaniel Photographs Gigi Hadid, Mona Tougaard and Others for Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2020 Campaign appeared first on theFashionSpot.

We’re still grieving the loss of Karl Lagerfeld so it’s hard to believe we’ve already had four collections and one mainline advertising campaign since his departure. The Chanel Fall 2019 campaign introduced Virginie Viard’s chic aesthetic to the famed French fashion house and the new ads for the brand’s Cruise 2020 collection follow suit. Models-of-the-moment Adut Akech, Anna Ewers, Fran Summers, Jing Wen, Kerolyn Soares, Kiki Willems and Vittoria Ceretti pose before a white backdrop for photographer Karim Sadli as the ladies showcase the travel-inspired collection in the campaign styled by Max Pearmain.

Less is always more, right? The campaign divided our forums. “Absolutely terrible products. I never thought I’d see the day that Chanel looked cheap, but here we are! The jackets look like they’re made of terry cloth, then they’re styled with those $2 leggings. To top it off is a belt made of leftover chains and gift wrap ribbons. What a disaster!” proclaimed GivenchyHomme.

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“Karl knew how to pull this off, but unfortunately these people don’t. You can’t have uneventful clothes and an uneventful campaign. Had they used some more dynamic poses, like Max Mara, something playful and fun, this could’ve been a fantastic campaign because it would be harder to notice the weak clothes that look like knockoffs,” aracic ranted.

Benn98 was also unimpressed. “The looks in the first shot don’t seem very far from Escada. Didn’t pick that up from the runway collection. Not a great sign for Chanel. And these shots seem far too commercial.”

But not everyone was unhappy with the outcome. “It’s not bad. It’s not offensive. But it’s not very inspiring. I seriously get a vibe that Virginie is just a palate cleanser before they appoint a new CD who will take Chanel in a new direction. Everything about her creative choices is textbook. Beautifully executed. Well-designed. But not much to desire,” reasoned TaylorBinque.

“Max Pearmain doing Chanel! I’m here for it… I think the campaign perfectly evokes the spirit of some of Karl’s best and simpler campaigns at Chanel,” testified Lola701.

“The black and white portraits are the best,” noted dfwn2n.

Check out Chanel’s latest campaign in full and join the conversation here.

The post Several Models of the Moment Come Together for Chanel’s Chic Cruise 2020 Campaign appeared first on theFashionSpot.

We’re still coming to terms with the tragic loss of Karl Lagerfeld as the house of Chanel is still trying to find its footing in his absence. Back in March, Virginie Viard presented Lagerfeld’s last collection for the iconic French fashion house and now the campaign is finally here. Styled by Carine Roitfeld, models Kris Grikaite, Rebecca Leigh Longendyke, Vittoria Ceretti, Jing Wen and Mona Tougaard appear in the studio-shot ads. The collection is showcased beautifully since the girls were captured before a clean white backdrop with the sleek art direction paying tribute to Lagerfeld’s Chanel campaigns from the 90s.

The campaign received mixed reviews on our forums. “It looks so badly Photoshopped. Like they shot a lookbook and merged all the girls together. And everyone’s hair doesn’t look good. I’m still waiting for the rest, but kind of disappointed,” voiced Ivanovaju after checking out the first campaign image (above).

“If they were shot together, it would have looked more fluid and natural. Instead they look completely disjointed. They all have a different expression, it’s quite awkward to see them put together. Virginie has absolutely no taste or imagination,” critiqued GivenchyHomme.

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“A shame really because I like the clothes, but this looks like America’s Next Top Model,” said Nymphaea.

Also majorly underwhelmed was dodencebt: “Is this what Chanel is going to be now? The in-house team shooting the campaigns in a Lagerfeld-esque style that looks even cheaper than the original?”

“Seriously…Karl deserved better. This is a wonderful collection, a very important collection that closed a very important era in fashion and to have a mediocre amateur lookbook is a pity,” Lola701 pointed out.

Although not everyone felt let down by the outcome. “After getting the Chanel: The Karl Lagerfeld Campaigns book a while back and having looked through it from cover to cover, I cannot help but love this for how it resembles Karl’s earlier campaigns from the 90s in terms of layout and styling — and I think that’s very fitting for the first without Lagerfeld,” approved vogue28.

“I actually love the simplicity of this campaign,” echoed zacatecas570.

Forum member aracic felt the same way. “I definitely agree, this turned out to be one of the best Chanel campaigns in recent memory. Although it may seem like a lookbook due to its simplicity, I find a certain beauty in it. The frames add a lot to it, too.”

See more from Chanel’s Fall 2019 advertising campaign and share your thoughts here.

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