While some say revenge is a dish best served cold, fashion lovers would argue that it is even better served in Chanel. That may explain why Nicole Kidman, 58, the guest of honour at Chanel's Cruise fashion show held in the French seaside town of Biarritz on Tuesday, looked dressed to kill.
Amid rumours that her former husband Keith Urban, also 58, is dating a 26-year-old and that their eldest daughter has unfollowed him on social media, Kidman might well have been in a mood for retribution. Though demure from the front, Kidman's black 'revenge dress' was far racier from the back, featuring a plunging 'V' decorated with delicate gilt chain and feathers.
Her hair scraped back into a bun, she accessorised the look with oval sunglasses, a favourite of Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel. The shape is currently enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to Love Story, the hit TV show about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, who also loved the style.
The 'revenge dress' might have been popularised by Princess Diana, who famously wore one in 1994, but in Biarritz on Tuesday, creative director Matthieu Blazy presented his own take, delving into the Chanel archives to create a modern, elegant black dress based on an original design from the 1930s.
Joining Kidman on the Chanel black list was actress Marion Cotillard, 50, in a black satin slip dress; 65-year-old actress Tilda Swinton in a black blazer and skirt; and screenwriter Michaela Coel, 38, in a simple black tank dress. By contrast, rapper A$AP Rocky, 37, was toting a large pink Chanel bag decorated with matching baby shoes – a gift to his one-year-old daughter, Rocki, whose mother is the singer Rihanna.
Tuesday marked Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy's first Cruise show and featured a rich-in-colour collection. Having shown his debut ready-to-wear collection last October, Blazy's first Cruise show contained a tour de force of hits that should consolidate his current success. Held in front of Biarritz's Grand Plage, the collection was rich in colour, texture and ideas, designed to take women from the beach to the ballroom. Raffia-lined skirts, iridescent denim jackets, monogrammed polo shirts and matelot pants all came in bright spring hues, shown on models of diverse ethnicities and ages, including one who was six months pregnant. To the chagrin of fans, the only thing that isn't inclusive about Blazy's Chanel is its prices.
