Chanel's Métiers d'Art collection pays homage to Britain and Manchester

Chanel passionately engages with the United Kingdom, specifically Manchester, through its Métiers d’Art series, curated under the innovative guidance of Godfrey Deeny and unveiled on Dec 8, 2023. 

Ridley Scott’s movie on Napoleon received a lukewarm response in Paris a fortnight ago, contrasting with an enthusiastic reception for Chanel’s newest collection in Manchester. 

The vibrant collection effortlessly melded Manchester’s rugged street fashion with an exquisite regal panache and vivacious French style, marking a zenith in Virginie Viard’s tenure so far. Staged in the evening’s gloom, the collection's colors echoed the late Queen Elizabeth's taste – soft purple, striking aubergine, flaming orange, and abundant strawberry and raspberry tones. 

These striking shades were intended to enable standout sartorial performances even from a hundred yards. Chanel’s couturier decided to display the collection in the open air on Manchester’s former cotton trade street, Thomas Street, enshrouded by a transparent canopy, for the protection of attendees, including Chanel’s famous emissaries Kirsten Stewart and Sofia Coppola. 

The fresh collection revealed lean, body celebrating designs with a moderate décolleté and skirts ending a couple of inches above the knee. Chanel’s joyous models were a paramount testament to Viard’s half-decade-long successful reign at Chanel. In an informal interview post-show at the Bay Horse Tavern, Viard encapsulated the collection as "Fun, fresh, young". Distinguished attendees included celebrities such as Caroline Casiraghi, Tilda Swinton, Laura Bailey and Hugh Grant. 

The empowering collection boasted refreshing new suits, unparalleled redingotes, chic coat dresses and dramatic sequinned party attire. T

he adventurous collection was unveiled amidst a drizzling backdrop, as models walked the runway outdoors following a sudden break in a downpour. Chanel accompanied around 100 guests to Old Trafford for a stirring soccer match between Manchester United and Chelsea the previous night, which saw a gutsy triumph for the locals with a score of 2-1. Throughout Chanel’s three-day tour of Manchester, symbolic elements of Man United were consistently present, especially artwork featuring George Best by Saville and Coppola. 

Chanel included a nod towards Coco Chanel's history in the Manchester area in a special edition of Chaos 69, a luxury style magazine. The runway show was positioned against a backdrop of decrepit Victorian structures, trendy thrift shops and vacant plots. Manchester’s resilience is showcased in the remnants of physical damage from the Luftwaffe’s ruthless Christmas Blitz in 1940.

 Chanel’s collection resonated with the distinctive blend of modern and vintage embedded in the city's landscape and cultural history. Coco Chanel was laying the foundation of her fashion empire around the time when suffragette pioneer Emmeline Pankhurst was fighting for British women's right to vote. Viard's designs took inspiration from Pankhurst's characteristic pleated shoulder blouses.

 The tweed Coco discovered in Eaton Hall was a prevalent element in this collection. The show was punctuated with an array of stylish flats designed by Laurence Dacade and topped with iconic baker boy caps. The revered punk-poet John Cooper Clarke also lent his presence at the front row, next to the band New Order, giving a private performance for a select audience. 

The collection encapsulates the remarkable talent of French luxury houses to adopt and celebrate foreign cultures, formulate their impressions, and weave these foreign elements into the fabric of their brand, rejuvenating and nurturing the brand's identity.