CHANEL Fall-Winter 2023/24 Collection Highlights Iconic Camellia Flower

The refined camellia has long spoken of elegance and grace. For CHANEL, the blossom holds a special place in the brand’s history. It was much beloved by Gabrielle Chanel herself and remained her timeless emblem for decades. The winter flower now serves as inspiration for the CHANEL Fall-Winter 2023/24 Ready-to-Wear collection, and it’s a symbol creative director Virginie Viard describes as “reassuring and familiar.”

Nostalgic motion colours the collection, which Viard imagined as possessing the sweet yet dynamic energy of a wooden merry-go-round. The latter is the backdrop for the black-and-white film featuring actress Nana Komatsu, shot by high-profile duo Inez and Vinoodh for the collection. Asymmetric coats, dresses, and Bermuda shorts suits echo the film’s setting. The camellia’s symbolism emerges in small romantic touches throughout the collection: from delicate prints to blooming embroidery and sculpted buttons.

The colour palette, highlighting black, white, and pink, serves as a further reference both to the iconic flower and to CHANEL’s unwavering monochrome codes. A flighty air of bohemia is summoned with the masculine-meets-feminine contrasts CHANEL is so known for, such as peak lapels and men’s jackets juxtaposed against flounces, floral coats, and open backs. Crafted elements, from beading and sequins to homestyle knits in muted shades, impart a vaguely vintage vibe, alongside retro English influences of the 60s and 70s.

Throughout it all, the camellia carries on as the enduring symbol of the elegance that defines the CHANEL woman.

“I like its softness and strength,” says Viard in describing the flower. “The camellia is more than a theme; it’s an eternal code of the House.”