The Heart Of Virginie Viard Beats For Chanel’s Latest Métiers d’art Collection

In the artistic stronghold of Dakar, Chanel expands on a conversation between contemporary craftsmanship and traditional know-how

Welcomed in praise and honored in substance, the artistic capital of Dakar encamped its headquarters to present the Chanel 2022-2023 Métiers d’art collection. As a byproduct of coveted house assemblies with friends of Chanel who call it their home, Dakar pinpoints a new genre in the creative effervescence of the house. Re-inhabiting Dakar meant engaging in a sacrosanct dialogue with a country that bestows respect upon Chanel, hand in hand with their effort to establish concrete actions regarding a creative exchange, the transmission of know-how, and sustainable development.

“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,” shared Virginie Viard.

Many regard Chanel as an avant-garde heritage house brand that revolutionized haute couture and ready-to-wear by substituting structured, corseted silhouettes with functional garments that women still perceived as flattering. For the Métiers d’art collection, house codes are celebrated in floral and plant motifs, embroidery works, clusters of camellias, intertwined pearls, forests of jeweled buttons, and dazzling sequins, which harmonize with the coats and the pleated lace. Though in all its delicate allure, the subtlety of lace guides the collection, echoing notes of a strong feminine, much like that of maverick artistic director Virginie Viard.

With her ravenous seventies, spirit, and a beating heart that exudes unmatched levels of imagination, a zeitgeist of Viard traverses the collection. Conjoined with the freedom of the soul-funk-disco-punk energy of the decade, an explosion of energy is embodied by a jubilant woman. In Viard’s mind, evoking the 1970s is like summoning everything that generates a pulse to bring rhythm into our lives today. Therefore, she wanted to extend the fleeting moment of beauty and dreams induced by the show for this Chanel Dakar exhibition to acknowledge the artistic scene of this cultural capital and the disciplines she applauds.

The collection takes shape with long, fitted coats, flared trousers, seventies collars, platform shoes, oversized sweatshirts – colorful and embroidered with flowers – multicolored tweeds and asymmetrical dresses. Designed by the Chanel Creation studio in Paris and le19M, the looks have historically paid homage to fashion savoir-faire since 2002. Pioneering the debut is a choreographed dance routine by the international training and creation center for traditional and contemporary African dances, École des Sables and the choreographer of the Slow Show, Dimitri Chamblas.

Watch the full show below:

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