Like so much of fashion branding, CHANEL spring 2022 campaign evokes a world far different than the one we’re living in. It begs the question, though, about the world of the Chanel customer and whether events like rising autocracy and now Putin’s war on Ukraine impacts them at all. Do they even care?

Vivienne Rohner is center stage in images by Inez & Vinoodh [IG].

In the words of CHANEL

The campaign for the CHANEL Spring-Summer 2022 Ready-to-Wear collection is an ode to youth whose nonchalant grace resonates with the endless days of summer. Within the discreet charm of a villa in Provence, Inez & Vinoodh [IG] capture the model Vivienne Rohner and through her a certain notion of femininity.

My advice to Chanel is to proceed carefully with this “nonchalant grace” and a “certain notion of femininity” attitude.

A nuclear plant is on fire in Ukraine, started by Russian forces on March 3, ordered to action by Vladimir Putin. Russia’s autocrat is threatening nuclear attacks on the rest of the world. Ukraine’s citizens are suffering heroically, as they fight for democracy and hold a torch of light that is inspiring nations to action worldwide.

AOC’s decision to hold fire on Chanel, after expressing confusion and dismay with Vogue France on Wednesday, was just thwarted by prominent capitalist-tool media Forbes magazine. I was confused — and said so — by the cover of Vogue France in February as well. As many images as pass my eyes, this is noteworthy.

What message of “femininity” is Chanel sending with the spring 2022 campaign — and is it the same message that Vogue France is sending in its March 2022 issue?

It’s a scary thought, frankly — depending on your politics. We established that Putin’s people love it. But what about the rest of us?

We should not doubt Chanel’s intention, however, because it’s a fact that large numbers of Chanel wearers have a Plan B of what to do if Putin drops a nuclear bomb or two on the world. I am well-informed on one such plan. They really do live above it all in a world where the ‘hedge’ is their biggest insurance policy.

Chanel: To Be Aloof or Not To Be Aloof

In 2020, post-George Floyd murder, Forbes’ Olivia Pinnock wrote: Do Coco Chanel’s Nazi Connections Matter For Fashion Today?

Forbes did not hold back in their reflections about the Chanel heritage, via Pinnock, covering a fall 2020 retrospective of Coco Chanel’s work in Paris. “Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto”, at the Palais Galleria. The exhibition was created with the support of the Chanel brand and invites visitors to “explore a universe and a style that are truly timeless.”

Pinnock wrote in fall 2020:

While information on Chanel’s Nazi affiliations are not new, they feel even more relevant in a year when the Black Lives Matter movement has forced us to confront the lens through which we view history. The tearing down of statues of slave owners sparked an important discussion around who we celebrate and acknowledging the good and bad about historical figures.

Note that Forbes shared another highly-informed, contributor story about the exhibition, written by Cécilia Pelloux: Iconic Exhibition ‘Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto’ Opens In Palais Galliera In Paris. Looking at both writers’ Twitters, it’s clear that Olivia Pinnock is the activist in the duo — much like the world of luxury customers.

There is no single mindset among Chanel wearers, and many share the range of allegiances and visions of women embraced by Coco Chanel herself. The question for us, is do we want to align ourselves with Coco Chanel’s allegiances if today’s Chanel seems to cultivate a similar attitude.

Chanel could have chosen to present a more contemporary vision of the Chanel customer in the spring 2022 campaign, but they did not.

Wrapping the Chanel woman in privilege and a rarefied, aloof femininity — one untouched by world events and marches in the streets — is not the world of Anne of Carversville and our readers. We are changemakers — except for the Russian NRA who showed up as I predicted to read my French Vogue article. They have other visions at hand for me.

What Chanel needs to understand — and Vogue France, too — is that in our digital world where we are all connected, traditional media and social media are making daily choices on what to say and what to write. I would NOT have shared the view of Tansy Hoskins about Coco Chanel without further research — especially if I felt Chanel had moved forward. But today, I owe nothing to Chanel.

Hoskins disagrees with the view that Coco Chanel’s Nazi past and the decision in her global fashion exhibition not to discuss them in any detail are not in conflict. The author of ‘Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion’, argues that we can’t separate the woman from her designs. AOC is not embracing Hoskins’ opinions {not having considered them previously} but they merit reflection.

“It’s clear that Chanel’s far-right ideologies influenced her designs. She championed minimalism and the austere. It’s very white European.”

Leena Nair: New Global CEO at Chanel

Chanel has a new CEO — Unilever executive Leena Nair — who became the new Global CEO of Chanel in January 2022. Nair is known for her work in diversity and bringing business into the more progressive values of modern times. There is every reason to believe that Nair will impact the brand positioning of Chanel, while recruiting more progressive-thinking talent into Chanel’s brand leadership.

WWD quoted Chanel, Nair has “built a global reputation for progressive and human centered leadership, delivering significant business impact” and went on to describe her as a “highly respected as a visionary leader, whose ability to champion a long-term, purpose-driven agenda is matched with a consistently strong record of business outcomes.”

Coco and Ralph

Compare the message of the privileged aloofness of this Chanel spring 2022 campaign with the Ralph Lauren Holiday 2021 campaign that resonated so deeply with AOC.

When Ralph Lauren aligns himself in a holiday campaign with Haatepah and Topash Skhar — twin brothers of the Chichimeca tribe — and Cuali Linda Aleman with Glenda Hernández Quezada, this is huge. The four are all activists aligned with the Indigenous Alliance Movement [IG] advocating for sovereignty through decolonization. Many other activists are featured in the campaign.

Ralph Lauren has answered Olivia Pinnock’s question about modern branding one way, and Chanel another. Luxury customers have choice in which brand addresses their identity and values.

Ralph Lauren hasn’t changed every ad campaign into an activist one. The resort 2022 campaign for Lauren Ralph Lauren is totally different in mood: Joan Smalls, Lily Aldridge Are Frenchified in Lauren Ralph Lauren Resort 2022 by Liz Collins.

Lily Aldridge and Joan Smalls appear together as friends — in the south of France, one of the most wonderful places on earth. There’s nothing activist about the messaging — except for the mixed race friendship. In the real-world of luxury customers, this marketing friendship imagery is noteworthy and goes beyond using diverse models into human connections and friendships. Call it quiet activism.

A key reason why AOC has been quiet about Chanel for several years is that we trust Pharrell Williams’ association with the luxury brand. Sometimes change comes quietly, by people working within an organization. With Williams still lending his name to Chanel, AOC has remained quiet, as Pharrell knows far better than AOC, when it’s time to raise our voices against the brand.

Williams also commented on the hiring of Leena Nair in the WWD article, saying: “The intention is to diversify. The intention is to take a more democratic approach to France itself. We do know that there has been tension with our African brothers and sisters here in this country, our Arabic brothers or sisters in this country. Chanel understands that,” Williams said.

For AOC, Pharrell was also sending a message to activists like AOC who are concerned about Chanel’s white nationalist past: “Hold your fire.” And we did. Williams was saying between the lines: ‘help is on the way with Leena Nair.’

Had Vogue France not kicked me into a state of wondering whether they are actually aligned with women’s rights in the March 2022 issue, we would have continued to hold our fire on this Chanel campaign.

Not now. The world is in crisis and we need to know where business leaders, media and brands stand.

AOC is prudent in our approach, but at a time when I’m wondering if it’s actually OK with the GAP that their golden boy Kanye West follows through with his campaign to destroy — and murder — Pete Davidson, silence is not an option. When Vogue France simultaneously blows off #MeToo, we must stand up and fight back. The die is cast.” ~ Anne