Karl Lagerfeld first showed a CHANEL Métiers d’art Collection in 2002 and ever since, these collections have become such highlights of the CHANEL universe. Celebrating the incredible skills and talents of the artisan partners that work with the House of CHANEL on highly specialized finishings and items like knitwear, silk flowers, shoes, embroidery and more, the collections are demi-couture. Previous collections have been themed around locations like Tokyo, Mumbai, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Dallas, Shanghai, and Rome. For this year’s collection, CHANEL Artistic Director Virginie Viard looked to one of the artistic epicenters of Africa. The CHANEL-Dakar 22/23 Métiers d’art Collection was unveiled in the Senegalese capital last week as part of a three day long cultural event. This also marked the first time a European luxury house staged a fashion show in Sub-Sahara Africa.
“Going beyond the runway show, it’s the event as a whole that I took into account. We’ve been thinking about it for three years. I wanted it to happen gently, over several days of deep, respectful dialoguing,” tells Virginie Viard.
The collection honored the codes of the House as well as the unique talents of CHANEL’s savoir-faire partners. Vibrant plant motifs played beautifully against graphic lines and geometric shapes. A rich and warm colour palette highlighted the striking sequin work and sparking pendants. Intricate embroidery work intertwined with clusters of delicate fabric camellias, pearls, and jeweled buttons. Fabrications like tweed, denim, lace, and chiffon helped bring the joie de vivre of the 70s soul-funk-disco-punk freedom that Viard drew from to design pieces befitting an “explosion of energy…embodied by a jubilant woman.” The CHANEL-Dakar 22/23 Métiers d’art collection takes shape with long, fitted coats, tight, flared trousers, seventies collars, platform shoes, sweatshirts that are oversized, colourful and embroidered with flowers, multicoloured tweeds and dresses shorter at the front than behind.
“The former Palais de Justice in Dakar, where not only the runway show but also a major part of the accompanying artistic programme are taking place, is one of the most beautiful venues we have ever presented a collection in. It was an obvious choice and has been a source of inspiration as well.” – Virginie Viard
Mindful of the balance between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation, CHANEL has committed to fostering long-tern relationships between the African partners that they worked with during the creation and presentation of the show. The look-book was shot by Senegalese photographer Malick Bodian, while Kourtrajmé, a film school founded by French director Ladj Ly that has a branch in Dakar, produced a series of videos around the collection. Additionally, a dance performance by Senegalese dance pioneer Germaine Acogny’s Ecole des Sables opened the show alongside local singer Obree Daman. In January 2023, la Galerie du 19M (CHANEL’s artistic hub dedicated to the advancement and preservation of Métiers d’art skills) will come to Dakar for several months to launch, with the support of IFAN (Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire), exchanges and creative dialogues with Senegalese personalities, celebrating the richness and diversity of the embroidery and weaving trades in a programme that is free and open to all. The aim of this programme is to promote the transmission of know-how and to encourage vocations among the general public, schoolchildren, students, families and craft lovers. Between contemporary creation and traditional know-how, the new collaborations will be exhibited in a second time in la Galerie du 19M, Porte d’Aubervilliers, in the Greater Paris area.
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