A Los Angeles state of mind: Chanel heads to the West Coast for its Cruise 2024 show

One of the essential promises of fashion is one of transformation. And when you decide to become a part of the value proposition of a legacy fashion house with a storied past, you automatically embark on the journey the brand has designed. When a showcase happens or a collection drops it's never just about the clothes, it's about what you want to now focus on as a brand, and how your loyal clientele will perceive your next move.

Naturally then, destination-based fashion shows are a normal tactic that luxury brands, with a never-ending budget use to make a dazzling statement of self-worth and power. So in order to showcase their Cruise 2024 collection, Chanel (one of the most upscale of all European haute luxury brands) turned to Los Angeles.

In a city obsessed with fitness, it was no surprise that the show, set on the edge of a basketball court, started with an '80s-inspired fitness video—complete with Chanel dumbbells, featuring the French actress, Alma Jodorowsky on a ginormous screen.

Then, skaters danced around the cobble-stoned edges, surrounded by food trucks serving traditional American hotdogs and pizza. A scoreboard announcing the start of the Chanel show appeared infront of the audience, and including an envious attendance—from Margot Robbie, Kristen Stewart, Marion Cottilard to Paris Hilton, everyone was there.

There were flirty bouclé suits, buttonless and cut to the clavicle to reveal tweed bandeau tops, paired with two-toned brogues fastened with a pussy bow; lace dresses cascading in delicate frills and bathed in ombre colours that mimicked a Californian sunset; sparkling hot pants and bikini bottoms ribbed in silver-speckled embroidery; and cardigans made out of lightweight tweed, which seemed to fit like second skin.

Chanel designer Virginie Viard has been known for her delicate design aesthetic, the no-nonsense kind, where the clothes wear the woman and not the other way around. Maybe the sheer size of the presentation overwhelmed the subtlety of the work. But all you could do was applaud Viard and her vivacious team for coming up with a fashion moment to remember and an intelligent choice of clothing for women of today.