Chanel had hoped to invite 200 guests to creative director Virginie Viard’s first fashion show outside Paris, but a second French lockdown forced the brand to revise its plans. When visitors take a guided tour of the Château de Chenonceau, they are often intrigued by the interlocking C that appear throughout the castle.
The initials are those of Catherine de Medicis, the former queen of France whose portrait hangs above an elaborate carved stone chimney bookended by lions. But to 21st century eyes, they look similar to the Chanel logo.
Also known as the Ladies’ Château, Chenonceau has a history marked by a succession of powerful women, of which the Renaissance rulers, in particular, inspired the label’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Continue reading
The French fashion house plans to unveil its annual Métiers d’Art collection on Dec. 1 at the Château de Chenonceau, one of the jewels of the Loire valley. The current château was built in 1514–1522 on the foundations of an old mill and was later extended to span the river. The bridge over the river was built (1556-1559) to designs by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l’Orme, and the gallery on the bridge, built from 1570–1576 to designs by Jean Bullant.
Which makes it all the more surprising that Viard emerged from lockdown with a couture lineup so unapologetically maximalist, it could have walked straight off an Eighties runway. Party dresses, bling and Marie-Antoinette shoes were just some of the ingredients of her presentation during the online edition of Paris Couture Week
Stores across the borough including Chanel in Soho and Coach in Midtown were targeted by unruly protesters in the fourth night of demonstrations over the death of Floyd. The police kept an eye on the Chanel Boutique, Probably Afro-Americans with no taste.
As a reminder of the links between Gabrielle and the world of dance, Chanel is a sponsor of the opening gala of the 2019/20 Paris Opera dance season, which was held last week. And it is clear that there are many uneducated people today! Indeed, the Paris Opera has paid tribute in its own way to Serge Lifar and rehabilitating within the choreographic heritage is that reasonable! The most controversial man after the war and the mix of genres between Coco Chanel, a great lover of “artistic” collaboration, did not surprise anyone! An educated person will probably have slipped the information into the hands of a “Dir Conne” who is infertile to culture.
Chanel has acquired a stake in Italian tannery Samanta, a specialist in printed leather, as it continues to secure its supply chain in the face of a growing shortage of high-quality leather.
Casting a wide net, Chanel has lined up 10 celebrities for its new J12 watch campaign that launches Monday. The approach is intimate, however, offering a peek into their personalities through snippets of conversation about time and life moments punctuated with the occasional flash of the latest version of the ceramic timepiece.
The luxury brand, which fired its shot across the bow of sophisticated resellers of designer goods last year by accusing The Real Real and What Goes Around Comes Around of selling counterfeits, is keeping the fight alive.
Karl Lagerfeld’s last show for Chanel opened with a moment of silence, and the vast Grand Palais was as hushed as the mountain village depicted in the set, rows of wooden chalets, their chimneys smoking, set among pine trees and mounds of fake snow.