Here is the one thing that the Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton Cruise shows had in common

One was set in the Hypostyle Room of Antoni Gaudi’s Park Güell in Barcelona, the chimerical aura of which a perfect backdrop to the time-travelling, transcendental style. Another found home on the rooftop of a modern apartment complex, Cite Radieuse, in the seaside city of Marseille, with the futuristic concrete art space perfectly complementing the fashion-art festival showcased. The other was juxtaposed against the sibylline Tate Modern in London, the washed out industrial facade of the Brutalist museum an ideal transgression to the fluidity of the collection with newly found foliage.

None, you would think at first glance, should have anything in common other than being shows for leading luxury fashion houses in the busy cruise season, but another thorough glance tells you otherwise.

At the Chanel Cruise show earlier in May, creative director Virginie Viard once again found a balance between nostalgia and novelty, this time inspired by the everyday lives of art loving girls in the city, the wind and sea (of Marseille) adding to their free spirit. There were beachy bits, relaxed fits, effortless tweeds, and smart denim, all with broderie anglaise, diving hoods, and press studs zhuzhing the details.

Louis Vuitton’s collection tout de suite transported you to the Spanish life, traced through the history of matadors and the flamenco tradition. Tailored looks gave way to voluminous drapes, complete with delicate flowers, Gaudí’s geometric prints and signature mosaics, and textured fringes and tweed. And neutral greys, tans, blacks, and whites led the way to striking reds, greens, and blues to paint the daydream Nicolas Ghesquière was playing out for us.  

For Sabato De Sarno’s second show, Gucci’s new creative director sailed through England and Italy. The show notes read, there was a "sense of tension between different ideas and ideals, different identities." It was casual, sure, complete with precision tailoring and cool style. Think workwear blended with street style, fragility with tough additions—a work of purposeful contradictions. "The House’s return (to the city) is driven by a desire to be immersed in its distinctive essence, its creative driving force with its limitless capability to put together contrasts, make them converse, and find ways to coexist," De Sarno said in a piece in Harper's Bazaar UK. 

But amidst the play of Spanish opulence, nostalgic novelty, and dynamic street style, one thing tied all three together—the peaks of big, boxy shoulders. Think the many suede jackets, the trench, and the leather jackets from the Gucci Cruise. Perhaps look 11, 13, and 15 of the Chanel Cruise show that reimagined the classic tweed with boxier, bigger fits in a classic Chanel pink coat and black-and-white coat dresses. Or, right upfront, the first look showcasing a minidress rendered in a woven wool resembling natural fibres with a crisp white lapel and the many others that followed. 

Sure, the renditions of all three are antithetical to one another, but the sentiment remains, and the trend to takeaway is simple—big, boxy shoulders and cuts are here for the season, so it might be worth your while to go back to your brother, boyfriend, and father’s closets, of course after this heat wave. Oh, and not to forget the ballet shoes, which we saw in all three shows too and are definitely going to be front and centre this season. 

 

Feature image credits: Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton

Also read: Sabyasachi becomes the first Indian designer to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala
                How small symbols worn by celebrities turn up the volume on “power dressing”