The Chanel cruise 2024 runway show started off with the main theme from Basic Instinct. While it may be a rather odd choice given the 1992 film’s subject matter—an erotic thriller of a murdered rock star—the haunting orchestral arrangement felt like a fitting introduction to a cruise collection meant to celebrate the allure of Hollywood and American pop culture.
“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; between the dream on one hand and what you want to wear on the other, it’s all a question of balance,” says artistic director Virginie Viard.
Teasers leading up to the Chanel cruise 2024 runway show only offered a sliver of what the collection would eventually look like. The Jane Fonda-led workout movement of the 1980s was evident in the first four looks where leg warmers (also a styling leitmotif peppered throughout the collection) were paired with bodysuits and sportswear-inspired coordinates.
There was a general sense of playfulness as Viard riffed on typical Hollywood tropes and meshed them together at times. Gilded old Hollywood drama—think Eartha Kitt and Elizabeth Taylor—took the form of breezy kaftan-inspired pieces paired with intricate embroidery, while Viard’s favoured use of pink resembled the typical Barbie-type characters the likes of Elle Woods and Cher Horowitz, complete with quintessential 1990s blowout. And if the dressed up looks aren’t you come of tea, there were a slew that would’ve fit in right at home in a Jennifer Lopez or Pussycat Dolls music video back in the day—navel-grazing hoodies et al.
It was also jumpsuits galore on the runway. Teetering on disco at times and then done in classic Chanel tweed, they were the more “masculine” nuances of the collection. Everything else was kept flirty and short with bedazzled mini skirts and high-waisted shorts that were sometimes paired with equally decorated leg warmers to satisfy any magpie tendencies.
What definitely stole hearts and drew the attention of everyone were a number of lit up heels. Immediately, they called to mind the bright, flashing lights of light-up sneakers that some of us were fortunate to have grown up with back in the 1990s. For Chanel cruise 2024, they were reinterpreted as chunky heeled footwear with a consistent gradient of light completely filling up the entire heel.
On the accessories front, a ludicrously capacious bag made several appearances (looks 17, 28 ,and 43) in candy-coloured hues. The front-flap tote bag came in quilted leather and pretty much spanned the entire torso of each model that carried one. It’s excessive perhaps. But just like any dream (especially Hollywood-themed), it’s never big enough.
View the full Chanel cruise 2024 collection in the gallery below.
