In China (evening of December 3, 2024), Chanel traveled to the legendary West Lake in Hangzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for a show that highlighted the exceptional craftsmanship of the House’s artisans.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s palatial apartment on Rue Cambon—a Paris address that also houses the couture atelier of her namesake home—features eight lacquered Coromandel screens, richly decorated folding partitions that originated in China. They were a particular draw for the fashion designer, who reportedly owned 32 of them in total, and used them as lavish wall decorations or to cover doorways when she wanted to hide away from guests. “I almost fainted with joy when I walked into a china shop and saw Coromandel for the first time,” she said of her first encounter with the decorative piece, aged 18.
The largest screen in the Rue Cambon apartment depicts West Lake, a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s historic Zhejiang province. Once located within the ancient city walls, its calm waters are dotted with man-made islands and bridges, as well as numerous ornate temples and pagodas along its shoreline. As such, it has been the subject of mythological tales and poetic musings, before Marco Polo used it as a symbol of China, bringing it back to the West in the 13th century. In 2011, West Lake was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Early on the night of December 3, the West Lake was also the site of Chanel’s latest Métiers d’Art show, the annual event that celebrates the various artisans and highly specialized organizations that contribute to the house’s collections, from feather workers and embroiderers to milliners and goldsmiths. The site was teased by a Wim Wenders-directed film released earlier this week, which shows house muse Tilda Swinton traveling from her apartment on Rue Cambon to the West Lake before sailing its famous waters in a traditionally decorated boat (the film also stars fellow ambassadors Sean Cheeley and Lea Do).
The final slide of the film reads: “Gabrielle Chanel never traveled to Hangzhou.” “In the coming days, the House of Chanel will finally come to an end.”
And so the show took place in the early evening, with a series of wooden runways, hovering just above the lake’s surface, providing the runway (the idea, Chanel said, was to create the illusion of walking on water). Indeed, there was a distinctly nocturnal mood to the collection, from the sweeping midnight black coats that opened the show, to the lavishly embellished tweed jackets and a series of gold-gilt garments (others were adorned with delicate boudoir-like feather embellishments). The tweed suit was everywhere, in different iterations—some jackets were cut to reveal patterned undergarments underneath, while skirts went from shortened, kilt-like to longer, fuller—while a more casual mood emerged in Bermuda shorts, denim skirts, and a softly padded collection reminiscent of nightwear (the idea of travel and movement was another inspiration).
As always with the house’s Métiers d’Art collections, the real poetry of these pieces came from the extraordinary expressions of craftsmanship and ornamentation that were prevalent throughout. There were camellia motifs embroidered by Lesage (Coco Chanel’s love of the flower was allegedly inspired in part by its use in Chinese artworks), intricate pleats and piping, and fanciful panels of sequins and crystals. In a statement, Chanel praised the “skillful craftsmanship” of her various works of art, the “dynamism of their layers and the romance of their refinement.”
The collection was designed by the house’s in-house studio team, following the departure of former creative director Virginie Viard last June. Rumors about her replacement continue to circulate, and news is said to be imminent. Although this evening in Hangzhou, it was Chanel’s artisans—the magicians behind the curtain—who took their rightful place at center stage.