THIS WAS not a quick decision nor something that only took a few months of planning, but rather a presentation that has been slowly building up over years. “Going beyond the runway show, it’s the event as a whole that I took into account,” begins creative director Virginie Viard on Chanel’s Métiers d’art 2023 showing. “We’ve been thinking about it for three years. I wanted it to happen gently, over several days of deep, respectful dialoguing”.
Inspired by the exhilarating seventies spirit, Viard took the opportunity this season to inject a kaleidoscope of colour into Chanel by using the very hues that painted this pop-soul-funk-disco era and brought it to the classic House – all whilst still managing to reflect its surroundings through a subtle nod to Senegal’s enchanting love for freedom with the colour-blocking layering.
Representing a more modern version of this care-free girl, the Métiers d’art 2023 collection is brought to life with a myriad of plant motifs, lines and geometric prints, that are full of colour, sequins and lace, balancing the French allure with the imploding desire of that decade. Long fitted coats play with silhouettes as they are matched with flared trousers, while sweatshirts are oversized, and dresses are cut shorter at the front than behind. The mix-and-match nature of the collection is furthered by the detailing as embroidery intertwines pearls, clusters of camellias and dazzling heaps of sequins to add an extra layer of dimension to each piece.
“Real dialogues, nourished over the long term, it is this human and warm dimension that motivates my work and that I try to re-transcribe. I put all my soul into it,” continues explaining Viard. “These marvellous encounters from which artistic adventures like this one are born, that’s what drives me”.
Bringing the Parisian chic to the streets of Senegal is just as juxtaposing on paper as it is in person, but the reasoning behind this cultural exchange is rooted in understanding the artistic influence of Dakar’s scene, known to be a place that fuses fashion, cinema, dance, literature and music together – all aspects of creativity that Chanel prides itself on up-lifting.
Viard and her team understood what it means to go into a country and use it as a place to showcase their collection, but wishing to gain more from this than a location, their wish was to pay tribute to this country’s artistic stronghold through establishing a relationship that would create the foundations for a long-term partnership, aiming to open exhibitions and supporting Senegalese organisations in the new year.
While there were hints of Senegalese influence in the collection, it still remained inherently Chanel. What Viard does so cleverly is bring the unwavering elements of the House to the forefront of each collection, playing around with the pieces so each season there is a new picture but at the core, what remains is tweed, elegance and Coco’s wish for fun.
by Imogen Clark