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NEW DAWN RISING C hanel launched its Fall- Winter 2020/2021 haute couture collection under the helm of Virginie Viard, who became creative director of the brand in 2019, following Karl Lagerfeld's death. While her first collection stayed true to Chanel codes, the latest show hints at a new direction for the venerable house. Inspired by punk rock and more casual lines, the collection saw a return to simplicity, from the setting to the fashion itself. Referencing the river Seine, the show was about freedom and a more relaxed, less rigid experience. Indeed, it began with two models strolling down the runway, having a chat. As Viard has noted: "I like working like this, going in the opposite direction of what I did last time. I wanted complexity, sophistication." The tweeds are there, as are the blacks and anthracite gray tones, but they're joined by cropped tops and casual cuts, with athleisure influences seeping in to contrast with leather boots, big hair, feathers, and piles of jewelry. It's a mix of punk and casual with a dash of nostalgia. This is the new Chanel — and it feels appropriate for the times we live in. And, for the first time, this collection feels completely Viard's. chanel.com. F orced to work in isolation due to COVID-19, the house of Schiaparelli presented a short film and a series of sketches for this season's haute couture collection. The fashion house is led by Texas-born artistic director Daniel Roseberry, who for 10 years was director of fashion at Thom Browne; the film shows Roseberry sketching from a park bench in Washington Square Park in Manhattan. Those sketches became the foundation of the 2020 Haute Couture collection and represent the designer's vision for the future. The drawings, presented on the Schiaparelli website, will be available on a made-to-order basis later this fall. See them at schiaparelli.com. W himsical, ethereal, dreamlike — such is the vision that Pierpaolo Piccioli presents for Valentino's Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2020/21 collection. It's the notion of rebirth, of humanism in a conceptual show that channels a new beginning post-COVID 19. Each look is created in pure white, projected with bursts of colors, feathers, and flowers in a collaborative effort with artist Nick Knight. A mix of digital and real world effects, the online exhibition begins in video then moves to a live feed of stoic models posing onstage, perched on hoops, ladders, and other props. The effect is one of grandeur, with flowing dresses taken to extreme lengths to be later tailored by the house for its clients. The result is impressive. "The tangible is morphed by the intangible. A dream solidifies to turn immediately back into a dream: a possible one, made real by the digital in dialogue with the human." PIERPAOLO DREAMS A DREAM THE NEXT CHAPTER Valentino Haute Couture Fall- Winter 2020/21 Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2020/21