Micro Accessories Owned the Runway at Chanel’s SS21 Show

Paris Fashion Week has officially come to a close, and Chanel has wrapped up the season on a high note (not like that’s a huge surprise or anything!). We expected Karl Lagerfeld’s successor, Virginie Viard, to surprise us with something unique for the label’s Spring/Summer 2021 runway show. And that she did.

On Tuesday, October 6, models took to the runway at the Grand Palais to present the luxury French fashion house’s Ready-to-Wear Collection. Besides blessing us with reimagined classics like its iconic tweed suits, Viard surprised the audience with accessories so miniature, you might have missed them entirely.

“Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld dressed so many actresses in films and in real life,” said Viard in a statement. “I was thinking about them who make us dream so much. But without wanting to replicate. Without falling into a vintage citation. I wanted it to be very joyful, colorful, and very vibrant too.”

To make her dreams for the show a reality, Viard virtually transported the show’s virtual and in-person attendees to old Hollywood … with a Parisian twist! Models walked the runway in front of massive “CHANEL” Letters inspired by the famed Hollywood Sign. The runway show’s all-white set ensured that the audience stayed focused on the main event: which is technically the label’s spring-summer line, but in our humble opinion, it’s most definitely micro accessories.

Some models hit the catwalk carrying the micro bags just like they would a normal-size Chanel handbag. Interestingly, this wasn’t revolutionary. Lizzo debuted a tiny (or should we say, microscopic) Jacquemus purse from the French label’s FW 2019 show at the 2020 American Music Awards. The hitmaker made headlines for posing with the Le Chiquito Mini Bag in White ($1,045).

But others showed off the reimagined version of the micro bag, stunning on the runway in creations like layered necklaces featuring the itty-bitty purse as a pendant. They wore the blinged-out bags attached to belts and chunky bracelets that unexpectedly fused fashion and jewelry in the coolest way.

So while this isn’t the first time we’re seeing the micro bag in action, it is undoubtedly the first time we’re seeing them take the form of jewelry. Perhaps the logic behind these accessories is that no one is really bringing a micro bag out for a night on the town. If you are doing this, please reveal yourself.

Knowing that practicality is entirely out of the question, maybe that’s the reason your favorite quilted purse just became a trendy piece of luxury bling. If you’re interested in hopping on the micro bag trend, take note that the collection will officially be available in boutiques starting February 2021. In the meantime, we encourage you to watch the live-streamed fashion show on repeat. But first, keep scrolling to check out all of the micro-moments you might have missed from the fashion show.