Look of the Week: Tyla brings the Chanel skirt suit back to its ’90s heyday
By Leah Dolan, CNN
(CNN) — At Chanel’s Paris Fashion Week show on Tuesday, South African singer Tyla arrived at the Grand Palais in a hot pink tweed mini skirt, a strapless bustier top and matching jacket, paired with a dripping Y-shaped necklace that spelled “Chanel” out both horizontally and vertically. While many other show attendees including musician Raye and actor Simone Ashley dutifully donned a bouclé skirt suit — one of the label’s signature styles — there was no ignoring Tyla’s Barbie-coded version.
From the monogrammed gold “CC” buttons to the chain hem circling the bottom of her top, Tyla’s fuchsia three-piece was filled with classic “Chanelisms” that harked back to what some regard as a more distinctive era of the brand. The cut and colour echoed a tweed dress once worn by Naomi Campbell for the house’s Spring-Summer 1994 show. “I wanted to feel like a classic rich Chanel girl,” Tyla told Vogue.
On the runway, Chanel also reimagined its hallowed tweed skirt suit with bursts of tulle, floor-length hem-lines and necklines slashed off-the-shoulder.
Tyla’s ensemble was prim yet playful — a balanced alternative to the prevailing “officecore” trend seen throughout the Paris shows. Stella McCartney staged her runway in an open-plan office with guests sitting at desks equipped with stationery, while Balenciaga took a more pared-back approach with its collection of crumpled and moth-ravaged suits.
But if the thought of reaching for pinstripes and charcoal twill after 5 o’clock fills you with dread rather than desire, the bold skirt suit may offer a happy medium between our evident interest in more structured tailoring without the commitment of dressing like a “Severance” extra.
Consider the canary yellow iteration that Amanda Seyfried wore in New York on Monday — made edgier by a pair of blackout shades and knee-high leather boots. Or the Dalmatian print Versace variant Millie Bobby Brown wore on Tuesday during her “Today” show appearance. The printed two piece was styled with a black beret that perched atop Brown’s freshly bleached locks.
Tyla rounded off her vintage-style Chanel ensemble with a black mini bag and spiky cropped hair. While Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel is most remembered for popularizing women’s trousers, it’s worth noting that her enduring contribution to the skirt suit is a close second.
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