Review of Chanel Métiers d’Art Pre-Fall 2022 Fashion Show
Craft: The Past, The Present and The Future
By Anna Ross
Craft is at the very core of the Chanel brand. So much so, each year the Maison hosts an off-schedule runway in which it celebrates its artisans who provide Chanel with its iconic aesthetic codes and preserve the expertise associated with French luxury; the Métiers d’Art.
Now in its 19th year, 2021’s Métiers d’Art brought guests right back to the heart – and new home – of Chanel, unveiling the collection within the walls of the newly built Le19M in Aubervilliers, Paris, designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti. “It’s a vast, very open space, with a façade adorned with threads of white concrete, a garden, beautiful walkways, and a large gallery,” explained Creative Director Virginie Viard.
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Quite the change of tempo for the showdown, which was a relative blank canvas compared to the lavish sets of its former home at the Grand Palais, previously host to everything from a space shuttle to an alpine village. But perhaps that was just the point?
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It’s the artisans that are at the heart of this show, so what better place than home – and what better place than the modernist lines of Ricciotto’s Le19M to reinforce Viard’s contemporary vision for Chanel?
Ahead of the runway, guests were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Métiers workshops. Here, they discovered the exceptional savoir-faire and thousands of hours of workmanship of embroiderers Lesage and Atelier Montex, the goldsmith Goossens, the milliner Maison Michel, the feather worker Lemarié, the pleater Lognon, and Massaro – the cordwainer behind Chanel’s signature two-toned pumps. As revealed earlier on The Impression, Viard paid homage to each with works from 8 writers and 8 artists, honoring the creative dialogue and history of the Métiers at Chanel with a short film created by the choreographer and dancer Dimitri Chamblas.
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It’s “very metropolitan yet sophisticated,” explained Viard of her latest offering. The designer has the hard job of satisfying customers old and new, reinforcing a brand legacy well over 100 years old while modernizing the house’s codes with today’s internet-tinged taste levels. Today she excelled in fusing them with a newfound eclecticism that riffed on the past and present. There was classicism amidst the column knit dresses, the sensible two-piece tweeds and generous day-coats, yet modernity amongst lounge-loving catsuits, midriff-baring crop tops and graffiti-laden embroideries.
It seems, not even Chanel is safe from the youthquake that has a hold on fashion; lashings of stomach met their match with low-slung trousers and yes – baggy jeans!
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Belly chains framed the gap between cardigan-boob-tubes and hipster skirts while dripping gold charms – and plenty of them – told a story of the house of Chanel past, present and very much future. Logomania – everywhere, from a smattering of double-C applique, ‘s across cardigans to a full crystalized ‘Chanel’ logo across the pockets of a sweatshirt silhouette.
But look a little closer, and one will see the hours of skill that have gone into recreating those streetwear codes with couture status; that’s something you will only find at Chanel.
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There was something a-play with proportions that lifted the collection from ‘try-hard’ to triumph; Chanel’s iconic blazer came updated in new lengths, elongated, double-layered, and even floor-sweeping with a strong shoulder and stand neck. Viard riffed on the clean lines of her new surroundings via graphic tweeds and sparkling silver grid embroideries. Bouncy feathers and sheer skirting felt oh-so-Carrie Bradshaw, paired with duos of handbags in mini proportions. ‘Viard understood the assignment.’
![Chanel Pre Fall spring 2022 fashion show](https://theimpression.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Chanel-Pre-Fall-2022Runway-The-Impression-048-scaled-1.jpg)
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Virginie Viard’s years of experience as the direct liaison between the métiers and Karl Lagerfeld during his tenure at Chanel have armed her with the know-how for the Métiers d’Art extravaganza. Somehow, her S/S22 ready-to-wear collection fell a little flat; but it seems her new surroundings have given her a new lease of life in which to take the brand into the future while all the meanwhile preserving the sacredness of its past.
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