Virginie Viard

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Virginie Viard (* 1962 in Dijon ) is a French costume and fashion designer and since the death of Karl Lagerfeld on February 19 , 2019, creative director of the Parisian fashion house Chanel .

Life

childhood and education

Viard's maternal grandparents were silk manufacturers in Lyon, her parents, Bernadette (called "Nadou") and Henri Viard, worked as surgeons . The father's parents come from Megève on Mont Blanc , the family was involved in building cable cars. Henri himself was a prominent skier in his youth. As the eldest child of her parents, born in Dijon, Viard moved with her family to Lyon in early childhood , where her parents worked. In 1968 the family settled again near Dijon, in the southern wine village of Fixin . Virginie, who was considered a “dreamer” in her family, graduated from high school at the Lycée Carnot in Dijon. She then studied at a fashion school in Lyon, Le Cours Georges . In 1984/1985 she went to London for a year in the punk era. With a “very British” aesthetic taste and purple-dyed hair, she returned to Lyon, where she took sewing lessons from an older woman in her apartment. Her grandmother gave her fabrics for “fluffy outfits with elastic bands” and made clothes such as “Rock'n'Roll”. She was guided by her favorite stars at the time, such as Marianne Faithfull , Patti Smith and Siouxsie .

The female part of the family was traditionally interested in fashion; their mother and sisters liked to wear Chloé clothes , but were also interested in brands such as Sonia Rykiel , Yves Saint Laurent , Emmanuelle Khanh and Louis Feraud when shopping . In her own words, Virginie also liked to leaf through fashion magazines, but was more interested in film in her youth, especially the Nouvelle Vague and actresses like Gena Rowlands and Anna Karina . Viard began her professional career as assistant to the costume designer Dominique Borg , who had been in the industry since 1974, but only celebrated her breakthrough in 1988 with the production of Camille Claudel by director Bruno Nuyttens . At that time, Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu were cast in the leading roles . Viard was particularly impressed by Adjani, but also by Juliette Binoche .

One of the highlights of her work as a costume designer is the work for the Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski and his films Three Colors: Blue (1993) and Three Colors: White (1994). Virginie Viard also set up theater productions, such as the stage play Madame l'abbé de Choisy directed by Isabelle Nanty at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris in 1990 . About the difference between the film and the fashion business, she said in an interview: “Designing costumes is more difficult than designing a collection: Models are less complicated than actresses, the fashion scene is less excited than the film and Karl (Lagerfeld) is more sociable than one Director."

Work with Karl Lagerfeld

In 1987 a mutual friend and neighbor of her parents in Fixin, allegedly a chamberlain of Prince Rainier III, put her in charge . von Monaco , an internship with Karl Lagerfeld, who had been with Chanel for four years. Viard thought Chanel was “too pink” at the time and personally preferred Jean Paul Gaultier . Still, she was impressed by books like Chanel Allure by Paul Morand and a biography about Misia Sert , who was friends with Coco Chanel . Viard worked on the third floor of the then smaller company headquarters at 29 Rue Cambon in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, initially in the embroidery department . In 1992, she and her mentor moved to Chloé, a brand she was very familiar with from her own family. After returning to Chanel five years later, Viard initially worked exclusively in haute couture . Since 2000, she has also taken care of the prêt-à-porter lines at Chanel, which greatly increased the number of employees she had to manage. In an interview in 2015, Viard said that she herself makes no distinction between haute couture and the cheaper prêt-à-porter when it comes to her demands. Both work areas are very different, and the respective teams need very individual instructions. It was important to Viard to get Karl Lagerfeld's sketches into her hands as quickly as possible, as she avoids any kind of time pressure. She was quickly recognized as the “left and right hand” of the prominent fashion designer. She is said to have such good time management that she can “squeeze two days into one”. In order to avoid possible stress, she starts preparing the next one immediately after one collection is finished: “I don't like working under pressure at all. Designing a collection is enough stress. It's important to move forward, but I don't want tension. ”For her, it was“ unthinkable ”to be able to remind her boss Lagerfeld of the deadline.

She expressly praises the “crazy pace” at Chanel; With two haute couture and six prêt-à-porter shows a year, the group is the most creative of all comparable fashion empires. After an interruption of work, it is extremely difficult to get back inside, so she prefers to work continuously on new collections. She is equally committed to Lagerfeld and the company's founder , Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, no matter how different they both were. In retrospect, she most appreciates the first Metiers d'Art collection from 2002, which was then marketed as the Satellite collection ; for her it is the epitome of Chanel.

In his own words, Viard gets inspiration less from observing the competition, but more from curiosity and “switching off” when visiting exhibitions, the theater and concerts. During a visit to Versailles, for example, she noticed the smallest details, an experience from which she would like to draw on "as long as possible". Taking care of her son's homework during his school days also gave her “other thoughts”. Her partner Jean-Marc, with whom she has been together for thirty years, also works as a musician and producer for Chanel. Viard is considered extremely modest, reserved and shy and was little known in the French public until the death of Karl Lagerfeld, although she had already worked for him for more than three decades at the time. On February 19, 2019, the co-owner of Chanel, Alain Wertheimer, announced in a press release that Viard, who had headed the company's creative studio for a long time, would succeed Lagerfeld as the company's creative director.

Time at Chanel after Lagerfeld's death

In July 2019 Viard showed her first couture collection for Chanel. A library served as the backdrop for the fashion show, which can be interpreted as a reminiscence of both Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld. Viard rejuvenated the Chanel designs a little, spiced them up and a. with 1980s influences and, like its predecessor, placed great emphasis on suitability for everyday use. In doing so, she honored the tradition of the house, but at the same time showed her own signature. She decided not to present the usual wedding dress at the end of the show.

Quote

“Karl sends me text messages, pictures, drafts, photos all day and I try to translate everything so that the tailors in the studio can go to work. I make sure that everything runs smoothly. We try things out, decide on materials and basically I try to find out what he has in mind and where he wants to go with the new collection. You know, he can often be a bit vague and not tell you exactly what he means. He never says he has a subject, so I'm guessing. I focus, modernize and make things rounder or even more timeless. ”Virginie Viard on her work with Karl Lagerfeld.

family

Virginie Viard has four siblings: Arnaud, Françoise, Marianne and Benjamin. Arnaud (born 1965) works as a screenwriter and actor.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to Le Bien Public , February 20, 2019 Qui est Virginie Viard, la Dijonnaise qui prend la suite de Karl Lagerfeld? Viard was six years old in 1968 [1] , accessed February 20, 2019. Viard was born in 1969, according to other sources
  2. ↑ Le Bien Public , February 20, 2019, Qui est Virginie Viard, la Dijonnaise qui prend la suite de Karl Lagerfeld? [2] , accessed February 20, 2019
  3. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [3] accessed on February 25, 2019
  4. ↑ The New York Times, February 20, 2019, Who is Virginie Viard? The woman at the helm of Chanel after Karl Lagerfeld [4] accessed on February 20, 2019
  5. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [5] accessed on February 25, 2019
  6. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [6] accessed on February 25, 2019
  7. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [7] accessed on February 25, 2019
  8. ↑ Interview in Crash No. 57, 2019 VIRGINIE VIARD ON CHANEL [8] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  9. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [9] accessed on February 25, 2019
  10. ↑ Madame l'abbé de Choisy. Bibliothèque nationale de France , 1990, accessed on 23 February 2019 (French).
  11. ↑ Vogue Australia of February 20, 2019, Virginie Viard on her career with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and what makes a Chanel woman [10] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  12. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [11] accessed on February 25, 2019
  13. ↑ Fashionunited, February 19, 2019, Who is Virginie Viard? [12] , accessed February 20, 2019
  14. ↑ Vogue Australia of February 20, 2019, Virginie Viard on her career with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and what makes a Chanel woman [13] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  15. ↑ Interview in Crash No. 57, 2019 VIRGINIE VIARD ON CHANEL [14] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  16. ↑ Vogue Australia of February 20, 2019, Virginie Viard on her career with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and what makes a Chanel woman [15] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  17. ↑ Female (Singapore) from February 20, 2019, In Conversation With Virginie Viard: Confidante, Right-Hand Woman & Successor To Karl Lagerfeld At Chanel [16]. Retrieved February 20, 2019
  18. ↑ Liberation of February 19, 2019 PROFIL VIRGINIE VIARD, L'ŒIL DE CAMBON [17] accessed on February 25, 2019
  19. ↑ Chanel, Thank you, Karl Lagerfeld [18] , accessed on February 20, 2019
  20. ↑ Jess Cartner-Morley: Viard displays quiet savoir-faire at the first Chanel couture show. In: The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited, July 2, 2019, accessed October 27, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Philipp Löwe: This is the new Chanel. In: Spiegel Online. Der Spiegel GmbH & Co. KG, July 2, 2019, accessed on October 27, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Female (Singapore) from February 20, 2019, In Conversation With Virginie Viard: Confidante, Right-Hand Woman & Successor To Karl Lagerfeld At Chanel [19]. Retrieved February 20, 2019
  23. ↑ Le Bien Public , June 14, 2013, Adieu à Bernadette Viard , [20] , accessed February 20, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Viard, Virginie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French costume and fashion designer
DATE OF BIRTH 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Dijon