I have never been skiing, but something tells me the careering down a mountain on two planks of wood isn’t for me – but when it comes to the après ski? It’s pretty safe to say I could probably (see: absolutely) get on board with that. Someone I’m in good company with when it comes to this is Virginie Viard, given the Chanel designer looked to the slopes – or more specifically, what happens after dark at the bottom of them – for inspiration this season.
For AW21, the designer dropped a collection made up of après-appropriate XXL puffers, ski pants, bouclé coats, and chunky cable knit cardigans and sweaters, all ready to be shimmied off when their wearer stepped out of the snow and into the bar. “(It’s about) the ambiance of ski holidays, which I adore, and a certain idea of cool Parisian chic, from the 1970s to now,” she told Vogue.
Underneath her heavy-duty cold weather looks were a series of slinky slip dresses and silk camis, cropped tailored jackets, and quilted cocktail dresses and minis, the majority of which were matched with huge shaggy moon boots. Not necessarily your typical club attire on account of spillage problems, sure, but Viard had solved this problem – each pair was finished with a detachable outer layer easily ripped off and stuffed in your 2.55 when the time comes to get out on the dancefloor.
Elsewhere, the designer deemed salopettes hot for AW21. As seen on former Dazed 100-er and bonafide supermodel Jill Kortleve, the style came in classic quilted and tweed iterations, or otherwise plastered with logos. Expect to see the likes of Kylie Jenner posing outside a chalet in a double-C emblazoned pair in 3… 2… 1.
With the collection getting its debut via a short film captured by Inez and Vinoodh, the label went deep inside storied Paris members club Castel, where Viard’s models made their way through the dark, empty corners of the once-bustling space. Watch the show for yourself in the film below.