Camila Morrone Gave Her Chanel Couture Look a Cali-Girl Twist
For actor Camila Morrone, wearing a flowy dress is like an initiation.
“I grew up in Southern California, where a flowy dress is a rite of passage,” she told me after attending Chanel’s latest couture show on Tuesday, at the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris. “There is something about the effortlessness of a Californian throwing on a white dress … an everyday staple for me is a dress like that with a pair of Chanel ballerinas.” For the show, she wore that exact kind of dress—one that was long, white, and breezy. The kind that feels like a walk on the beach.
It was a piece from the fashion house’s upcoming Fall/Winter 2024 ready-to-wear collection, and while it felt like a second skin to Morrone, it was actually not exactly what she’d planned to wear to the show. Originally, she wanted to wear a version of it in black, which she’d worn for the Chanel campaign she’s the face of. “But when I arrived in Paris for the fitting on a hot June afternoon, I opted for the white instead, and paired it with the gold coin accessories,” she told me. “It’s light! It’s sensual! It’s fitting! It's a piece that I can see myself wearing year-round. Pairing it with the accessories tied the whole look together and gave it an extra drama for a morning at the Palais.”
Timelessness is something she thinks about often when getting dressed for occasions like the show—not trends. “To me, this is a dress you can keep in your closet forever. It’s a staple, a classic. Not something that will go out of style in a year’s time,” Morrone said. “That is what Chanel has mastered so perfectly: classic, feminine cuts that flatter and fit the body beautifully.”
She said she also sees the dress as something she can slip on not only when she wants to be herself, but also when she wants to become someone else: “The most fun part of a dress like this is dressing it up for an evening, adding your personal style and accessories to take it any direction you want to go. It can play many characters.”
The Paris show was like a play itself, Morrone said. “It was nothing short of magical. The location was breathtaking. The theatrics, drama, music, and overall production brought each piece to life in a way that felt like a fairy tale, or a scene out of a great film,” she said. “The craftsmanship of the dresses, presented in such a historic and elegant setting … was absolutely breathtaking. I think I can say you could collectively hear a pin drop at the finale of the show this morning.”
Was there a personality she saw walking down the runway that she would enjoying trying on? Morrone pointed to a model who wore a large bow in her hair. “I loved the commitment to the oversized, exaggerated hair bow. It’s incredible to see how well it works with a couture gown, and equally a casual look,” she said. The drama of the hair accessory wasn’t the only thing that caught her attention, either. “There were a few pieces that had dramatic shoulders that were incredibly powerful and structured. There was a mixture of feathers, sequins, tulle, velvet, embroideries. There was even a tutu as an homage to the opera!”
But if she had to pick a favorite, she said, it would be “the cream gown with white feathers and an embellished neckline.” Morrone admitted it’s a little more extra than the breezy Cali-girl attitude she’s most drawn to, but quintessentially Chanel in the way that makes it an instant classic. And that remains something any stylish Californian would appreciate.
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