In today’s social climate, the fact that Chanel held its runway show in a continent that it has no presence in — with the added optics of a European house taking over the former Palais de Justice of its former colony — could have been perceived negatively. But for Chanel, its latest Métiers d’art runway show wasn’t a one-off just for the sake of ticking off a list of countries that it had yet to hold a show in.
“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,” says Chanel artistic director Virginie Viard in the collection notes.
The Métiers d’art runway show was part of a three-day cultural event that gathered a diverse group of individuals across different artistic backgrounds, students, art lovers, fashion journalists and editors — all mainly from Dakar and Senegal. Chanel has also planned for the gallery arm of 19M (its Métiers d’art headquarters) to head to Dakar in January 2023 to conduct creative dialogues with Senegalese personalities in order to honour and celebrate the region’s weaving and embroidery trades. The culmination of this programme will be an exhibition at Galerie du 19M.
Chanel also announced a contribution to the restoration of the former Palais de Justice where the runway show as well as its accompanying cultural programme were held. For all intents and purposes, it seems to be an ongoing creative dialogue between Chanel and Dakar.
That aside, the Chanel – Dakar 2022/2023 Métiers d’art collection was noticeably absent of anything that could’ve been tied to Senegalese craftsmanship or motifs. And there’s an excellent reason for this: the Chanel Métiers d’art collections are conceived to showcase and preserve the know-how of the maison’s specialty ateliers. Hence, borrowing or even alluding to techniques of any other culture could potentially be problematic.
Instead, the fashion was thoroughly 1970s-inspired in nature. The vibe was joyfully eclectic, amplified by a magnetic use of warm colours and embroidery. The later was focused on the maison’s love for floral motifs with clusters of its emblematic camellias, pearls and sequins decorating at least an element in each look.
While tweed made its usual appearance — especially in the collection’s array of beautifully cut and languid flared trousers — the use of lace and crochet felt like a breath of fresh air. They were styled in hippie-like ways such as over denims, but was stunningly dramatic in full black (look 40) with piles of Chanel necklaces layered underneath.
If anything at all seemed “borrowed” from Senegalese culture, it was perhaps in the overall sense of exuberance that the fashion seemed to convey — matched by the musical performances that the runway show was sandwiched in between. I daresay I can’t exactly pinpoint the last time a Chanel runway show exuded the same emotions.
View the full Chanel – Dakar 2022/2023 Métiers d’art runway collection in the gallery below.
