Chanel Embraces The Vibrant Vibe Of Marseille
We got a firsthand look at how the bohemian energy of Marseille inspired Chanel’s Cruise 2024/2025 collection.
Every year, Chanel picks a place on the world map not only to inspire, but also to showcase its annual cruise collection (it’s a tradition that’s rooted in the maison’s early years when coco Chanel presented a line outside of the usual fashion calendar to incite wanderlust for toastier, more picture-perfect climes during the winter months). The latest destination: vibrant Marseille – the French city that receives the most sunshine; home to an eclectic repertoire of cultural institutions and landmarks; and a magnet for emerging creatives with its mix of grit and glamour, land and sea, and youthful bohemian energy. The results? A collection that makes us want to let loose and dance. Here, moments from our trip to the Phocaean city.
THE LOCATION
The Cite Radieuse building was serving main character energy for the Chanel Cruise 2025 show.
In 1952, the Modernist architect Le Corbusier completed Cite Radieuse, his seminal mixed-use project in the eighth arrondissement of Marseille that would become the blueprint for his Unite d’Habitation housing development concept.
Meant to create a self-contained community where residents could live, work and play without leaving the premises, it comprises 337 apartments of 23 different modular layouts, a rooftop terrace, shops, educational facilities, a swimming pool, an art gallery and even a hotel. This revolutionary vision of how people could live harmoniously with their environment earned the building a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016.
THE SHOW
The show took place on the rooftop of Le Corbusier-designed Cite Radieuse.
Unveiled on the roof Cite Radieuse on May 3 this year, Chanel’s Cruise 2024/25 collection can be said to possess the same effortless combination of function and fun. The brand’s tweed jackets, for example, now feature diver-inspired hoods with press studs (wear them with or without) with some even paired with not tweed skirts, but ultra-cute tweed cycling shorts. Equally practical yet elegant: sporty knits in cream and primary colours.
Chanel says, "Why not pair your skirt suits with a hoodie for a fresh, effortless twist?"
Situated along the Mediterranean Sea and as athletic as it is arty (it boasts one of France’s most successful football clubs), Marseille exudes a playful art de vivre quite unlike any other city. Chanel Cruise 2024/25 is fittingly exuberant.
Fun, youthful details of the Cruise collection
A distinctively summery mood permeates the collection: Think short and swingy separates in macrame crochet and waffle-textured fabrics, scuba-influenced swimsuits, and straw boater hats inspired by those worn by French sailors in the 1800s.
True to the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel, everything has been designed to offer ease of movement and the feeling of complete freedom. Marseille’s liberated attitude might also explain delightfully irreverent elements such as chiffon blouses printed with child-like illustrations of sea life – the brand’s ultra-sophisticated answer to the sweatshirt this season – and colourful chequered tweeds that are a nod to the graphic, balcony-dotted facade of Cite Radieuse, the show venue.
CHANEL'S CONNECTION TO MARSEILLE
A breathtaking shot of Marseille's beach by Jamie Hawkesworth for Chanel, bathed in the golden glow of the sun.
The relationship between Chanel and the sunny port city of Marseille dates back to 1989 when the maison staged the inaugural exhibition at the Maison Mode Mediterranee: Chanel: The Opening of Fashion in Marseille, which featured photographs shot by then-creative director Karl Lagerfeld. The institution was established to support local fashion professionals and run a fashion museum (it has around 200 looks from Chanel in its archives), and the brand remains a partner.
This bond continues beyond as Marseille thrives as one of Europe’s most richly diverse cultural hubs and Chanel as a dedicated patron of the arts. After the Cruise 2024/25 show, for example, Le19M – the Paris-based centre started by Chanel to house all of its Metier D’Arts to preserve their craft – opened La Galerie du 19M Marseille, an ephemeral gallery spotlighting local artists at the Mucem museum. Says Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel: “Marseille has drawn many communities from around the Mediterranean, living together for centuries. There is great beauty here – and style.”
THE AFTER PARTY
When Chanel throws a party, you can bet it attracts some of the coolest names in culture and music.
When Chanel commits to celebrating the arts, culture, and way of life in a particular location, it doesn’t hold back. The after-party of its Cruise 2024/25 show in Marseille, for example, featured a line-up of entertainers who call the city home or have a close connection to it. Among them: (clockwise from top left) the singer-songwriter/painter Johan Papaconstantino, the rapper SCH, the director, songwriter and DJ Pablo Padovani, and the Caribbean-influenced DJ Douce Soeur.
Of course, the collection offers the perfect array of party fits with sequinned jackets and skirts meant to recall the silvery reflection of the sun on the city’s waters, and flowy little black dresses big on beachside attitude.
Says Virginie Viard, who was behind the collection: “The sun, architecture, music and dance – Marseille also has a very strong sense of freedom. I was inspired by the codes of lifestyle, of everyday life and by all the things that invite movement.”
This article first appeared in the November 2024 Party Edition of FEMALE