Chanel's Fall 2021 Couture Collection

published 8 July 20

"I was thinking about a punk princess coming out of ‘Le Palace’ at dawn, with a taffeta dress, big hair, feathers and lots of jewelery," says Virginie Viard of the inspiration for Chanel's fall 2021 haute couture collection.

Like the French fashion house's 2021 cruise collection (opens in new tab), which was released just a month ago, this season's couture showing was revealed in a completely new manner for the brand due to the ongoing global pandemic. In a video and images shot by Mikael Jansson, models Adut Akech and Rianne Van Rompaey give us a look at the edgy, elegant, and undeniably Chanel creations as they dance and pose against a simple backdrop.

"This collection is more inspired by Karl Lagerfeld than Gabrielle Chanel," Viard said in a press release. "Karl would go to ‘Le Palace’, he would accompany these very sophisticated and very dressed up women, who were very eccentric too." And from the lush tweeds interwoven with sparkling ribbon to the dramatic dresses with unexpected silhouettes it's perfectly clear Viard "really had Karl’s world in mind…"

"For me, Haute Couture is romantic by its very essence. There is so much love in each one of these silhouettes," reflected Viard.

All the Looks from Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2021

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(Image credit: Mikael Jansson)

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Sally Holmes

Sally is the Editor in Chief of Marie Claire where she oversees coverage of all the things the Marie Claire reader wants to know about, including politics, beauty, fashion, and celebs. She came to Marie Claire from ELLE.com, where she was the Executive Editor. Before that, Sally was at NYMag.com's the Cut and graduated with an English major from Boston College. Her favorite Harry Potter is 'Order of the Phoenix.'