Chanel celebrates luxury craftsmanship

(Paris) Exceptional graffiti-style embroidery and urban looks embellished with feathers and sequins: Chanel celebrated luxury craftsmanship on Tuesday in a parade at 19 m, a new space on the outskirts of Paris that wants to bring together the best of these trades.

Vanessa Paradis, Sofia Coppola and other guests in tweed jackets accessorized with quilted bags flocked to the brand-new Porte d’Aubervilliers building in northern Paris, a district known for its migrant camps and unaccustomed to the splendor of the luxury.

Just like the site Chanel wanted to host eleven workshops under the same roof, including the embroiderers Lesage and Montex, the shoemaker Massaro, or the feather and flower expert Lemarié, the collection of the artistic director of Chanel, Virginie Viard, merged the worlds of luxury and the street.

Many graphic embroidery like those of Montex in silver sequins are inspired by the structure of the building with the facade adorned with white concrete threads, imagined by the architect Rudy Ricciotti, author among others of MuCEM in Marseille.

Sweatshirt and Bermuda shorts

On the catwalk, an abundance of knitwear, cardigans, but also “total looks” such as a mauve set made up of bustier, culotte skirt, jacket and neck warmer. Feathers and sequins are omnipresent, the parade being dedicated to these craftsmen.

The heel of babies two-tone – beige and black – is adorned with pearls and long leather gloves are worn with a mixture of jewelry.

The collection is “very urban while remaining sophisticated, with tweed jackets with sweatshirt sleeves, graffiti-style embroidery. […] voluminous knit Bermuda shorts and relaxed coats worn open, ”emphasizes Virginie Viard in the show’s intent note.

The invitation box includes a collection of texts by rappers like MC Solaar or Abd al Malik, and writers like Sarah Chiche, Anne Berest or Nina Bouraoui, telling their vision of the art houses that reside at 19 m.

Inspired by manga and avant-garde animation, the film directed by REMEMBERS which accompanies the collection brings another quirky note to present rare know-how.

Over 6000 little hands

With a surface area of ​​25,500 m² and endowed with a garden, the 19 m baptized in reference to the Parisian district where it is located and to which it hopes to bring shine, as well as the birthday of Gabrielle Chanel (August 19) will also go eventually host exhibitions.

After the virtual 2020 parade filmed in the framework of the Château de Chenonceau with American actress Kristen Stewart as the only guest, unveiled online in the midst of a health crisis, that of Tuesday was surrounded by draconian security measures.

All guests had to take a PCR test the day before, in addition to their health pass. Wearing a mask was required even outside the building.

Chanel is the only fashion house to present the Métiers d’art collections since 2002 to highlight exceptional know-how.

Chanel has acquired since 1985 nearly forty craft houses which lacked funding, located in France, Italy, Spain and Scotland and which employ more than 6,600 people.

These artisans work for Chanel, but also for other luxury houses and order ready-to-wear collections.

“When we started working with these houses in 1985-1990, they were scattered all over Paris. These workshops have become too small. In order for them to continue to develop and attract new talent, history had to be given a boost, ”Chanel’s president of fashion activities, Bruno Pavlovsky, told AFP in 2019.