Romanticism with touches of rock at Chanel’s Le Château des Dames 2020/ 2021 Métiers d’art show

 

Glamour at dusk: Geometric layers define masculine-feminine nonchalance at Chanel.

Each December since 2002, CHANEL unveils a collection dedicated to its Fashion Métiers d’art.This collection
highlights the creative dialogue between Virginie Viard, Artistic Director of CHANEL’s Fashion collections, and the
Maisons d’art, enhancing the creations of the House. This Ready-to-Wear collection specific to CHANEL celebrates the skills of the artisans: paruriers from Desrues, feathermakers from Lemarié, milliners from Maison Michel, embroiderers from Lesage and Atelier Montex, shoemakers from Massaro, goldsmiths from Goossens, glovemakers from Causse Gantier and pleaters from Lognon, in Paris and in France.

This year, the show of the 2020/21 Métiers d’art collection is held at the Château de Chenonceau, located in the
Loire Valley and also known as “Le Château des Dames”.

A play of volumes and materials builds a modern, sophisticated silhouette.

“I like everything to be mixed up, all the different eras, between the Renaissance and romanticism”, said Virginie Viard about her inspiration for this show.

The grand allure of the collection is accented by hats by Maison Michel and glittering corset belts embroidered by
Atelier Montex. The façade of the Château de Chenonceau, the jewel of Renaissance architecture, is found also on
the sweaters adorned with pearl necklaces. The lustrous black silhouettes are punctuated by trompe-l’oeil golden
medallions. The ultra-short suit-body revisits the emblematic CHANEL tweed jacket with daring proportions and
richly-coloured sequins. A voluminous floral-printed denim skirt echoes the castle tapestries. A sequinned mini-skirt
playfully references the black-and-white chequered motif of the grand gallery floor. All the looks are accented with
sinuous embroidery by Lesage.

Located in the Loire Valley in France, the Château de Chenonceau lends itself at once as the inspiration and the
setting of the 2020/21 Métiers d’art show. Also known as “Le Château des Dames” [Ladies’ Castle], its history is
closely linked with the legendary women who alternately lived there: Katherine Briçonnet, Diane de Poitiers,
Catherine de’ Medici, Louise de Lorraine, Gabrielle d’Estrées and Louise Dupin.

In the second half of the 16th century, the queen of Italian origins, Catherine de’ Medici gave this residence the splendour of the Renaissance. As proof, numerous inscriptions of her monogram remain visible in the castle’s décor: two interlaced Cs that bear an astounding resemblance to the double C that Gabrielle Chanel presented as early as 1921 on the stopper of the CHANEL N°5 perfume.

Beyond the emblematic CC, echoes of the castle’s rich history meet the world of CHANEL in the black-and-white  hues of the tiling in the “Royal Gallery”, the appearance of the lion, Gabrielle Chanel’s beloved symbol, embroidered tapestries and in the ordered lines of the castle’s gardens.