Chanel dedicates AW22 collection to tweed

Chanel opened the final day of Paris Fashion Week with an explosion of tweed, taking its guests on a journey along the River Tweed, inspired by walks founder Gabrielle Chanel took in Scotland.

Everything about the French fashion house’s autumn/winter 2022 show was about tweed, from the collection to the invite, and even the Grand Palais Éphémère space, which was swathed entirely in the heritage fabric, from the walls to the seats.

“Devoting the entire collection to tweed is a tribute,” explained Virginie Viard, artistic director at Chanel in the show notes. “We followed the footsteps of Gabrielle Chanel along the River Tweed, to imagine tweeds in the colours of this landscape. Like that of a long pink coat mottled with blue and purple, or a burgundy suit with a delicate gold shimmer.”

Viard added: “This is what Gabrielle Chanel would do on her walks through the Scottish countryside: she would gather ferns and bouquets of flowers to inspire the local artisans for the tones she wanted.”

Coco Chanel’s love affair with tweed started when she borrowed her first tweed jacket from the Duke of Westminster in the 1920s, which inspired the now iconic Chanel tweed skirt suit and firmly secured tweed as a mainstay of the brand.

For AW22, Viard took inspiration from the colours of the River Tweed and its surrounding landscape in Scotland, from muted earthy tones to pink, purple and blue hues. This led to a procession of tweed dresses, trousers, skirts, and of course, Chanel's signature blazer, which appeared in various silhouettes from oversized jackets with large retro pockets to sleek styles with classic gold buttons.

The tweed was styled with a country feel, layered with oversized knitted cardigans and scarves, along with rubber boots branded in double-C logos appearing in two heights, a classic wellington and a high-thigh style.

“I was also thinking about England in the 1960s, and very colourful record covers,” added Viard. Which translated into tweed jackets in psychedelic colours, patchwork style mini dresses, and short suits, alongside leather dresses.