Mediterranean Villa Host CHANEL Spring-Summer Collection

Nestled in the hills of the French town of Hyères along the Côte d’Azur, villa Noailles was Virginie Viard’s inspiration for CHANEL’s Spring-Summer 2024 Ready-to-Wear collection.

Built for art patron couple Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, and based on a voluminous, light-drenched concept, the modernist villa was designed by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens in 1923.

The grounds, with terraced gardens, cubist landscaping, and sunken flower beds, inform the collection’s key elements—a dynamic interplay of light, colour, and geometric patterns. Lines, patchworks, checks, and stripes play together in lighthearted harmony.

“Sophistication and informality, the tweed throughout the collection, sportswear and lace: I tried to bring one thing and its opposite together in the coolest way possible,” Viard says. “And the gardens and swimming pool of the villa Noailles, that exceptional setting, lend themselves to that rather well.”

Amid the laid-back air of the breezy Mediterranean coast, striped Bermuda shorts, babydoll dresses, and striped terry cloth convey the effortless joie de vivre of carefree summer days.

A bright colourful palette features on everything from evening dresses to neoprene suits with multicoloured tweed and floral motifs, alongside the sheer organza of petticoats and bra tops.

Gilet jackets, cardigans worn as dresses, and asymmetrical hemlines embody a sense of motion, especially when paired with the flat heels and gold-chain sunglasses that pay homage to the confidence and free spirit of Marie-Laure de Noailles and Gabrielle Chanel.

“This Spring-Summer 2024 Ready-to-Wear collection is an ode to liberty and to movement, and tells a story that has its origins in the gardens of the villa Noailles,” Viard says.

Once again, CHANEL transcends the boundaries of fashion, extending an open invitation to experience the freedom and beauty of a life in motion.