Mastering The Craft

Chanel's latest Métiers d'art collection is a celebration of enduring craftsmanship and the brand's strong aesthetic signature

- Renee Batchelor

A Chanel Métiers d'art collection is all about showcasing intricate craftsmanship the small touches seen in its embroidery, embellishments, and accessories that elevate the brand beyond the usual ready-to-wear offerings. But beyond simply showcasing the couture-like techniques and impressive levels of skill that breathe form and life into any design, each collection has to make sense for the brand.

This is where Chanel has always excelled. It continues to having a keen understanding of the signatures that it is known for - its tweed jackets, quilted bags, double C logos, and heavily-layered, chunky and has worked on jewellery constantly developing and reinventing these staples time and again.

This year, Chanel showcased its Métiers d'art collection twice, in two separate presentations. The first one debuted in December 2021 in Le19M in the 19th Arrondissement of Paris, France, while the second took place in June 2022 in Florence, Italy at the Stazione Leopolda - a former train station.

The first showing of the collection at Le19M-a new space imagined by Chanel and designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti - took place at a fitting location, as many of the house's Métiers d'art workshops are located within the newly built complex. It's a vast, very open space, with a façade adorned with threads of white concrete, a garden, beautiful walkways, and a large gallery where exhibitions will also be held, says Chanel's artistic director Virginie Viard. The modernity of the backdrop not only influenced the tone of the show, it directly affected some of the designs as well. Many of the embroideries are inspired by the structure of the building itself, such as those by Montex, which are very graphic and in silver sequins, explains Viard.