The dress that opened a new chapter for Chanel

Photo: Chanel/ Dua Lipa (Instagram)

Dua Lipa married British actor Callum Turner on May 31st of this year. But it wasn’t until June 20th that the singer shared the first photos of the beautiful ceremony and, even more so, of the outfits chosen to celebrate this moment.

But what really caught the eye?

During the celebrations, Dua Lipa wore different brands, such as Schiaparelli, Bottega Veneta, and Chloé. However, it was the Chanel dress that drew all eyes, both for the richness of its design and for the moment the maison was experiencing.

Dua Lipa needs no introduction. The British singer has become one of the leading pop stars of her generation and, over the past few years, has also consolidated her place in the fashion world. Between advertising campaigns, fashion weeks, and red carpet appearances, she has gone from being just a guest to becoming one of the most influential figures in the relationship between celebrities and contemporary luxury.

Surely, my dear reader, you have already come across the photos of the dress that conquered social media. But I invite you to look at it from another angle. Because, in haute couture, beauty is almost never the most interesting part.

Made by one of the greatest haute couture houses in Paris, the dress has a long, vertical, and extremely fluid silhouette. The halter neckline, fastened at the neck, leaves shoulders and arms exposed, while the completely open back creates a delicate contrast between sensuality and lightness. The long train is accompanied by a veil approximately six meters long, transforming the piece into a true extension of the dress.

But the beauty of the creation goes far beyond the silhouette. The embroidery was done manually with approximately 480,000 beads, sequins, and individual appliqués. In addition, approximately 25,000 feathers were applied one by one, concentrated mainly on the train and veil, and more than a thousand hours of embroidery were executed by different specialized Chanel ateliers.

The dress creates a curious illusion. The lighter it seems, the more handcrafted work is behind it. And that is something very characteristic of haute couture. A dress like this is the result of the work of many artisans: embroiderers, feather makers, pattern makers, and seamstresses, and not just the vision of the maison’s creative director.

That’s precisely where true luxury lies.

Much is said about brands, logos, and prices, but in haute couture, luxury also means time. It means hundreds of hours dedicated to a single piece, techniques passed down through generations, and skilled hands capable of transforming fabric into art.

More than a wedding dress, this creation emerges at a time of great expectation surrounding the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy. The Franco-Belgian designer, born in Paris in 1984 and trained at the La Cambre fashion school in Brussels, built his career working for some of the industry’s most influential houses, such as Maison Margiela, Céline, and Calvin Klein.

Photo: Matthieu Blazy (Instagram)

International recognition came when he took over the creative direction of Bottega Veneta in 2021. Not by chance, it was precisely a designer known for transforming artisanal techniques into desire who took over Chanel in December 2024. Matthieu Blazy was announced as the new artistic director of Chanel, succeeding Virginie Viard and inaugurating the first major phase of the brand after the eras of Karl Lagerfeld and Viard.

In an industry obsessed with novelty, Blazy’s trajectory indicates a consistent appreciation for craftsmanship. At Bottega Veneta, he became known for transforming manual work into a silent spectacle. Instead of betting on logos or immediate impact, he valued the construction of the pieces, the materials and techniques almost invisible to the hurried eye.

That’s why a dress like Dua Lipa’s gains so much relevance. It’s not just because it’s beautiful. He represents values ​​that have always defined haute couture and that directly dialogue with how Blazy sees luxury: the obsession with craftsmanship, the appreciation of manual labor, the extreme attention to detail, and the idea that technique, in itself, can be the greatest symbol of exclusivity.

There is a curious irony in fashion. While everyone is looking for the next trend, the most talked-about dress from Dua Lipa’s wedding makes us look precisely at one of the oldest practices in the industry: manual work.

By choosing Chanel for one of the most significant moments of her life, the singer not only wore a haute couture creation. She also put a new chapter in the maison’s history under the spotlight. And perhaps that is precisely the greatest merit of this dress. It reminds us that, while the fashion world races in search of the next trend, there are stories that continue to be sewn by hand.

By Ana Gadelha.