Flexible, mobile and versatile, the 1.5 collection is every bit as modern and empowered as the wearers it was created for—as Coco Chanel has intended since 1932
Last week, when Chanel announced Virginie Viard as creative director of the brand following the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, it marked the return of a woman as head of the House.
Lagerfeld’s decades-long reign meant that not since House founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel’s stewardship had there been a woman in charge.This is not entirely insignificant. Famously outspoken, and forever challenging stereotypes, Coco Chanel’s daring marked her as a feminist. She was a disruptor, and one of the first to play —and win—at the game. In a Time's Up / #MeToo world, with figures like Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel advocating female empowerment, it seems almost a karmic coincidence that Viard is now at the helm.
(Related: Meet Virginie Viard: Karl Lagerfeld's Successor To Chanel)
Two days after Lagerfeld’s passing, Chanel staged a preview of its latest 1.5 high jewellery collection for global VIPs at an exclusive closed-door event in Singapore.
Lagerfeld and Viard had little to do with the collection—the brand’s Watches and Jewellery division is managed by a separate creative team.
But what stood out was the spirit of the collection: Feminine yet assertive, bold with a quiet confidence. Characteristics associated with Coco herself, who, as early as the 1910s, was already championing assertiveness and encouraging women to free themselves from societal norms.