Choreography and Film by Dimitri Chamblas for the CHANEL Métiers d’art 2021/22 collection;

This Tuesday, 7th December 2021, saw the annual reunion of the CHANEL Métiers d’Art collection take place at le19M. No coincidence there, Virginie Viard, chose the breathtaking building for its prominence at the beating heart of the Métiers d’Art.

le19M was designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti, winner of the Grand Prix National de l’Architecture in 2006, he is also the brainchild and the force behind the iconic MuCEM in Marseilles, whose concrete curves draw a path of full light, the Stade Jean Nouin and its undulating contours, or more recently the FRAC Normandie in Caen. Crash had the pleasure of working with Rudy for a project in Crash 93 / The Electric Issue, where the innovative artist, known for his outspoken and clear-cut positions on pressing social issues shared with us his reactions to the major themes within his work.

His latest architectural masterpiece is a highly innovative, triangular-shaped 25,500 m2 building that meets the most exacting environmental standards. Six hundred people work there in the calm of the light-filled ateliers, crossing paths on the concrete-wire- clad walkways, which echo the urban forest they overlook. 
A place of patient labor, research and experimentation, le19M is also a living multidisciplinary space, open to the city and turned towards others, dedicated to weaving a link with its environment, notably through its gallery, ‘la Galerie du 19M.’ It is here, where the fabrics were pleated, embroidered and embellished with feathers and flowers, where the jeweler was and hammered, where the shoes and hats were fashioned, that the CHANEL 2021/22 Métiers d’Art collection was unveiled in a veritable celebration of these exceptional savoir-faire.

Since 2002, the annual rendezvous has been a celebration of and tribute to the virtuoso hands of fashion, following in the footsteps of Gabrielle herself, who, through a creative dialogue amongst Parisian artisans, initiated a number of longstanding relationships when she was head of the house.

The Métiers d’Art brings together several hundred embroiderers, feather workers, paruriers, goldsmiths, pleaters, shoemakers, hatters, milliners, glove makers, tanners, leatherworkers, as well as silk and cashmere experts based in France, Italy, Spain and Scotland. The shoemaker Massaro, the flower maker Lemarié and the goldsmith Goossens, were amongst the first to collaborate with CHANEL, all three of which have since joined the Métiers d’Art.

The technical savoir-faire of the artisans behind the creations is vital in ensuring the exceptionally high standards maintained at the house of CHANEL. Exacting and inventive, the couturière encouraged both an experimental and inventive attitude and a strong desire for perfection and attention to detail. Advocating therefore a discourse between traditional practices and modern reinventions and of skills passed down through generations and perfected through years of hard work and training. In a world where fast fashion and throw away culture continues to dominate purchasing habits, the values uniting the house of CHANEL and the Métiers d’Art run deep, they teach us the significance of partnership and the benefits of collaboration, in a society preoccupied with independence, competition and ego, CHANEL Métiers d’Art Collection is a beautiful reminder of the accomplishments possible when knowledge is shared. Always championing the importance of alliances across industries, CHANEL has pursued active partnerships ever since the days of Gabrielle and from the 1980s onwards pursued strengthening them further at a time when many art ateliers were in danger of disappearing, partly due to a lack of investment and successors.

Come 1985, CHANEL began the process of acquiring these métiers, as a means to ensure their durability, allowing for creative research, to support their development and to train new artisans. Ahead of it’s time, it is thanks to the insightfulness of the house that today, the Métiers d’Art brings together some forty Maisons d’Art and factories, representing more than 6600 employees, of all generations and backgrounds, who work with CHANEL and countless other great names in fashion in France and around the world.

The preservation of this heritage goes hand in hand with the need to focus on the future, to inspire new vocations and to experiment with new techniques. For this to happen it became necessary to embody this patrimony with an actual place, le19M. This year, eleven Maisons d’art have been brought together at this new site dedicated to the Métiers d’Art and designed by CHANEL, located between the municipality of Aubervilliers and the 19th arrondissement of Paris: the embroiderers Lesage — along with Lesage Intérieurs and its School of Art Embroidery — and Montex — with its MTX decoration department —, the shoemaker Massaro, the feather and flower maker Lemarié, the milliner and hatter Maison Michel, the pleater Lognon, the flou specialist Paloma and the goldsmith Goossens. These exceptional artisans weave, embroider and craft in direct contact with the CHANEL Creation Studio and the studios of the other fashion houses that call on them. To this prestigious list is added Eres, a reference brand of lingerie and swimwear, renowned for its savoir-faire and creativity.

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Discover the looks from the collection below:

IMAGES COURTESY OF CHANEL