CHANEL: The collection celebrates the spirit of the 1970s with silhouettes with vibrating colours

Embroideries, sequins, hats, feathers and passion at work…

The collection celebrates the spirit of the 1970s with silhouettes with vibrating colours and richly ornate embroideries of beads and sequins, textured tweeds and floral motives. Silhouettes are finessed with beaded sautoirs layered with sparkling pendants and bold belt buckles adorned with Mademoiselle Chanel’s lion.

The 2023 métiers d’art collection enhances the virtuosity of artisans from various Maisons d'art.

The Métiers d’art bring together several hundreds embroiderers, feather workers, flower makers, goldsmiths, pleaters, shoemakers, hatters, milliners, glove makers as well as tanners. Under the impetus of virginie viard, the set of savoir-faire perpetuated and constantly reinvented by these artisans contributes to rendering each creation an exceptional piece.

A skillfully worked tapestry of colours and textures, an embroidered, patchworked fantasy tweed sweatshirt blooms with metallic 3D camellias.

Codes dear to the House are celebrated in precious fabrics, as in the play on transparency of a lace blouse adorned with a camellia motif, and a draped black peplum skirt on which each petal is delicately traced in silver.

Vivid hues of blush, brick and cyan on this jacquard knit, sequinned tweed sleeveless jacket and flared pants, bright beaded sautoirs, and enamel cuffs, complement each other in tone and tenor.

The fluid and relaxed line of this silk lamé black tunic dress, with a thigh-high slit, is emboldened by a sparkling silver mesh plastron and tie, platform shoes and two-tone double-C cuffs.

"Dakar is an influential artistic capital on the international scene, particularly in areas held dear to the house, such as fashion, film, dance, music, literature and contemporary art," Chanel said in a statement. "More than just a show, this event will be part of a three-day cultural program accompanied by concrete action in terms of creative dialogue, sustainable development and the transmission of savoir-faire.

A playful conversation between a cool, contemporary silhouette and the virtuoso of Métiers d’art savoir-faire plays out when an embellished tunic, with its woven ribbon tweed skirt, is layered over logoed quilted denim jeans.

"Dakar is an influential artistic capital on the international scene, particularly in areas held dear to the house, such as fashion, film, dance, music, literature and contemporary art," Chanel said in a statement. "More than just a show, this event will be part of a three-day cultural program accompanied by concrete action in terms of creative dialogue, sustainable development and the transmission of savoir-faire.

" The location was first alluded to during Chanel's Master Class that followed the cruise 2023 Replica show in Miami, where Chanel President of Fashion Bruno Pavlovsky spoke of a conversation between the late Karl Lagerfeld, Williams, and himself about the fashion house's presence on the African continent.

"When I first started working with Chanel, it had been a dream of mine," Williams shared, noting it was years in the making. "I was intimidated to ask, because I don't think a fashion house had been to that part of Africa before."

When it comes to the designs itself, Creative Director Virginie Viard took all of the well-known Chanel house codes and gave them a modern, trend-conscious flair. Of course, there were the iconic boxy jackets, tweed materials, lace dresses, and collared shirts galore, but she also introduced peplum skirts, high-low dresses with side cutouts, and tunics layered over slim-flared pants.

The overall vibe was decidedly '70s, with sleeveless suiting jackets, printed silk shirts, and buttoned-up pointed collar necklines in abundance.

There were tops made of metal mesh layered underneath flared tweed suiting, oversize lapels covered in crystals, and boho lace dresses paired with longline cardigans and belted at the waist. Aside from a few slide sandals and classic capped-toe pumps, most of the footwear stuck to the chunky-platform sandal theme that was so iconic of the retro decade.

Scroll ahead for more images from the show, including celebrity sightings and runway looks.