Move over fashion week: Chanel and Dior soft launch creations at Venice film festival

"Rather than waiting for the catwalk, over the past 10 days brands including Chanel and Dior have given themselves a head start at the Venice film festival, using its starry red carpets and even gondolas to soft launch looks from their newly installed designers. Unlike the Oscars, which is one night of intense red-carpet scrutiny, or the Cannes film festival, which comes with strict rules, the focus at Venice is very much on notable art house films."

"With the pressure off, it allows designers, stylists and their Hollywood clients the opportunity to have a bit more fun. Amanda Seyfried even borrowed the same Versace look from Julia Roberts. A triumph for sustainability or a marketing stunt? Either way, it was front-page news. Jonathan Anderson, who took over at Dior in June, teased more than a dozen looks on actors including Greta Lee and Alba Rohrwacher before his womenswear debut in Paris next month."

"Meanwhile, Tilda Swinton hinted at what we can expect from Matthieu Blazy, the French-Belgian designer who recently landed the top job at Chanel, when she stepped off a water taxi wearing loosely cut white trousers and a short-sleeved blouse featuring tiny shimmering interlocking CC buttons. Henrik Lischke, the senior fashion features editor at Grazia, likens this new preview strategy to the press tour of the Barbie film in 2023. That proved that the more hype you create, the more attention you get."

September will be a major month for fashion with debut collections from 15 new creative directors. Several luxury houses used the Venice film festival to preview looks, leveraging red carpets and gondolas to soft-launch designs ahead of runway shows. The festival’s art-house focus reduces formal scrutiny, allowing designers, stylists and celebrity clients to experiment and generate buzz. Examples include Amanda Seyfried echoing a Versace look worn by Julia Roberts and Jonathan Anderson previewing Dior pieces on actors like Greta Lee and Alba Rohrwacher. Tilda Swinton’s Chanel appearance signalled Matthieu Blazy’s aesthetic, and industry observers compare the tactic to viral press-tour strategies.

Read at www.theguardian.com