The garden of the Abbey of Aubazine is a place where Gabrielle Chanel spent a part of her childhood. This stylistic grammar is subtly embedded into the silhouettes in the Chanel Spring 2020 Haute Couture collection with a young and affirmed allure.

On straight dresses in two-tone wool or tweed, the flat pleats, braided belts sported high on the hip, collars in cotton piqué or Bertha collars embellished with embroidery, evoke the attire of schoolgirls.

Fastened with jeweled buttons set with stars or flowers, trimmed with braids, with a high or folded back collar, the suits in beige tweed are worn alternately with skirts that are flared or veiled in tulle. Sometimes emphasized with fine woven cords, in natural colors, they exude a countryside charm.

Graphic motifs inspired by the stained glass windows envelop a dress and suit entirely embroidered with matte pastel sequins, while paving stones in matte ivory sequins are embroidered over suits. The purity of lines is also sketched out over long coats. The freshness of gingham returns on a little two-tone dress in silk, sequinned over the back.

Plays of transparency are apparent in featherweight dresses. Between their layers of black and white silk tulle petticoats, they reveal a refined and very light construction. Dresses in floral lace, occasionally adorned with a criss-cross pattern.

Echoing the garden at Aubazine, flowers are reinterpreted in colorful motifs over a long pleated and buttoned dress in lace and illusion tulle. As if in an herbarium, these delicate flowers are caught inside the tulle of dresses embroidered with the intertwining circles of the abbey’s stained glass windows, and blossom as embroideries beneath the organza flounces.

The wedding dress comes in crêpe georgette, enhanced with a triple Peter Pan collar in tulle and a veil embroidered with branches of wisteria. The simplicity of this short dress reveals a pure modernity.

Watch behind-the-scenes of the Chanel Spring 2020 Haute Couture show in Paris.