Watch Chanel Model Bride Ride Down the Runway (on a White Horse!) in a Regal Wedding Dress
Chanel/Shutterstock
The fashion industry has come to expect a spectacle during the finale of Chanel Haute Couture shows, with the late Karl Lagerfeld sending a supermodel (or two) down the runway in extravagant wedding gowns year after year — and Tuesday's Spring/Summer 2021 show was no different.
During the intimate Paris Fashion Week event, Virginie Viard — who took over as creative director of Chanel after Lagerfeld died in 2019 — introduced this year's bride (Lola Nicon) on a majestic white horse.
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The model donned a satin wedding gown embroidered with rhinestone-and-pearl butterflies and a tulle veil as she rode side-saddle down the runway accompanied by a horse trainer.
Speaking with Vogue, Viard said the look was, "a little bit like something seen in the old pictures—ivory satin, embroidery, and a big veil, not quite 1920s, but that atmosphere."
"Riding side-saddle on a horse, 'la mariée' appeared in an ecru satin crêpe wedding dress from the CHANEL Spring-Summer 2021 Haute Couture collection, embroidered by Lesage with rhinestone-and-pearl butterflies," Chanel wrote on Instagram alongside a video of the magical moment.
Chanel/Instagram
After the show, Nicon posted a photo of the horse and thanked "everyone" for making Viard's vision come to life in the caption.
Lola Nicon/Instagram
Viard carried the bridal theme throughout the collection, telling Vogue that the aesthetic was, "more bohemian style—more a wedding or a family celebration in a village than at the Ritz!" The line featured whimsical designs, with lace, ruffles and plenty of full tulle skirts.
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"I knew we couldn't organize a big show, that we would have to invent something else, so I came up with the idea of a small cortege that would come down the stairs of the Grand Palais and pass beneath arches of flowers," the designer told Marie Claire UK.
And with only a select few brand ambassadors including Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Vanessa Paradise and daughter Lily-Rose Depp in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic, Viard said it was "like a family celebration, a wedding…"