The Most Important French Woman at Chanel Always Wears This Outfit Combo
I recently watched Netflix's new documentary series called 7 Days Out, which includes a 45-minute episode on the Chanel Haute Couture S/S 18 show. Aside from Karl Lagerfeld's quips—which included him comparing dress details to old snow—I loved how the documentary shed light on the talented women running Chanel behind the scenes.
At the top of the list is Virginie Viard, the fashion studio director at Chanel, who has worked at the company since 1987. She's normally very under-the-radar but was just recently thrust into the spotlight after Lagerfeld was too tired to attend his Chanel couture show yesterday and instead had Viard take a bow solo after the finale. In 7 Days Out, Lagerfeld explained just how integral Viard is to the brand. "Virginie is the most important person, not only for me but also for the atelier, for everything," he says in the documentary. "She is my right arm and even if I don't see her, we are on the phone all the time."
While Viard rarely makes appearances, I noticed that her outfits almost always include a few pared-back essentials: denim jackets, jeans, and flats. Scroll down to familiarize yourself with Viard's perfect French style and shop her look.

Erin got her start as a Who What Wear intern in 2011—back when the site only published a single story per day. (We have since increased that number twentyfold.) She graduated magna cum laude from USC and lives in Los Angeles. In college, she also interned at Refinery29, where she was promoted to editorial assistant and then assistant editor. After nearly three years at R29, she came back to WWW in 2015, where she is now the Associate Director of Fashion News. From the Oscars to the Met Gala, she leads the site's entire red carpet coverage strategy. She specializes in celebrity and fashion news but also enjoys writing travel features and runway reports. She frequently contributes to WWW's social accounts and has a sizable following on her personal TikTok.
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