Cruise 2023/24 collection
FROM L.A. TO SHENZHEN
A JOURNEY,
A DREAM
Cinema is like an invitation to gather around a vision, a waking dream. If CHANEL has been involved in this discipline for so long, it’s precisely because fashion has the same ambition: to dream, to unite, to open up horizons.
Through her collections, Virginie Viard expresses this dream of uniting as many worlds as possible, in all their glorious diversity. Drawing on the imagination of Los Angeles and the West Coast, its cinema and its sense of celebration, the Cruise 2023/24 collection is a call to join a collective reverie.
Keeping up with this vibrant spirit, CHANEL now travels to Shenzhen, a city of amazing dynamism, a means of gathering and dreaming but also celebrating the long-standing links between the House and a country.
HOLLYWOOD STORIES
Actresses and CHANEL ambassadors, Marion Cotillard and Zhou Xun, and actor and CHANEL ambassador Wang Yibo share their impressions on Los Angeles, Shenzhen, the links between CHANEL and cinema, and the Cruise 2023/24 collection.
LOS ANGELES, THE BEATING HEART OF CINEMA, ITS LIGHT AND SHADOWS, THE BLACK AND WHITE GLAMOUR OF THE 1930s EVOKED IN THE CHANEL CRUISE SHOW: WHAT’S YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE CITY?
Marion Cotillard: This city gave me such precious things, things that changed my life. I went on to make several films there, met my idols there and made dreams come true.
Zhou Xun: I think Los Angeles is a very diverse and romantic city. It is golden in my memory, always sunny, with beautiful beaches and tall palm trees. At the same time, L.A. is also a place with a profound movie culture.
Wang Yibo: Warm and sunny, with a rich street culture, a vibrant city.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FILM-RELATED WORLD CREATED BY GABRIELLE CHANEL?
MC: It is emotional and tells a story.
WY: Bridging the worlds of cinema and fashion. Mademoiselle Chanel was instrumental in many of the early Hollywood movies as a stylist or designer of costumes.
ZX: I think she was a pioneer in combining fashion and the art of cinema very well. I remember one of her quotes: “Fashion can enter life through cinema”. During the Nouvelle Vague period (French art film movement of the late 1950s until the late 60s, ed. note), she collaborated with various French directors to bring fashion into movies in which the actresses conveyed that kind of elegance and modernity to the public.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SHENZHEN, WHERE CHANEL IS REDEPLOYING ITS STYLE AND MAGIC?
ZX: When I think of Shenzhen, words like “vigour”, “dream”, “struggle” come to mind. Some time ago, I thought about a movie called The Crossing, where the female protagonist traveled around Hong Kong and Shenzhen. There were many scenes showing the city’s streets and alleys, and I vividly remember the unique regional atmosphere in the movie.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIECE FROM THIS CRUISE COLLECTION?
MC: I loved way too many pieces to just pick one. The way the black, the colours and the rainbow are mixed together gives a magical depth to the silhouettes.
WY: I particularly loved a cardigan with a golden hood. The cloth itself is low-key black and white, and the golden hood makes the whole clothing very dramatic, very shiny and very suitable for dancing. There is also a variety of sneakers and skateboarding-styled accessories that I liked a lot.
ZX: What I liked the most in the collection was the materials. There are a lot of glittery elements, very dreamy and vintage. And since it’s a “Cruise” theme, there are a lot of dresses and shorts, which I especially like.
Photographs by Leslie Zhang and Malick Bodian
Styling by Ibrahim Kamara and Jeff Lee
REAL TIME
REAL TIME
Between shots and portraits of the models Vittoria Ceretti and Liu Wen, photographer Leslie Zhang tells a story about time. The time everyone experiences in their body, the time we can feel in a city at the forefront of the world such as Shenzhen. Traversed by the idea that big world capitals gain their strength from the attraction power of the dreams they convey, the Cruise 2023/24 collection celebrates the possibility that these dreams come true.
Photographs by Leslie Zhang – Styling by Katie Burnett
SHENZHEN BY ANDRÉ
SHENZHEN BY ANDRÉ
Known for Monsieur A, his iconic cartoonish character, visual artist André is at the forefront of street art. Having worked on the show’s invitations and posters in Los Angeles and in Shenzhen, he now shares with us a panoramic view of the Chinese city to celebrate the CHANEL’s latest show in mainland China.
Artwork by André
CRUISING THE SHOW
CRUISING THE SHOW
Colourful, vibrant, and elegant, the CHANEL Cruise 2023/24 collection unites the reverie of old Hollywood glamour with Los Angeles’ way of life.
“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 Virginie Viard, Artistic Director of CHANEL’s Fashion collections. “The idea is to offer a breath of fresh air, a voyage, a light-hearted and happy fantasy.”
First unveiled last May in Los Angeles, the CHANEL 2023/24 Cruise collection was presented during a show in Shenzhen, mainland China.
Photographs by Annie Lai
New wave of talents
Championing the film industry has long been part of CHANEL’s history. By dressing actresses and helping to make films, the House has supported the seventh art for almost a century. In mainland China, this commitment is now being extended to encourage a new generation of filmmakers through three initiatives aimed particularly at women.
Ever since its inception in 2006, the FIRST International Film Festival has focused on being an independent institution through exploration and experimentation. As part of the festival – co-initiated by CHANEL in 2021 – FIRST FRAME presents a special selection of films that turns the spotlight on the diverse images of women through the works of emerging filmmakers in contemporary Sinophone cinema and encourages the creative depiction of female characters and themes.
Founded and officially launched in 2015 by director, producer and China Film Director Guild (CFDG) chairman Li Shaohong, Young Shoots Project is the only young filmmaker incubator in China to be financed by the China Film Administration. CFDG joined forces with CHANEL to co-launch the latest Young Shoots Project in May 2022. Made up of masterclasses and screenings to help young Chinese directors, its goal is to inspire a new generation of movie talents to engage in a broader cinematic dialogue with society.
The third initiative focuses on short films, the primary means of expression for an up-and-coming generation of directors. NOWNESS embraces the novel and the extraordinary to be found in everyday life. In its fifth year, the NOWNESS Short Film Awards aim to encourage contemporary short film culture while discovering emerging filmmakers and promoting them through a creative voice, supporting their career development both in mainland China and globally.
On the occasion of the Cruise 2023/24 show in Shenzhen, CHANEL and NOWNESS are celebrating contemporary cinema and the great classics with an exclusive programme, encounters and public talks. It is the occasion to gather filmmakers, artists and friends of the House to exchange about the powers of cinema and its capacity to unite us.