Chanel to stage next Métiers d’Art show behind closed doors

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Nov 18, 2020

Bowing to the inevitable restrictions imposed by the latest Covid lockdown in France, Chanel has decided to hold its next Métiers d’art show behind closed doors.

 
The house had planned to stage the show on December 1 in the historic Château de Chenonceau, the romantic Loire valley castle.
 
Though generally the last major show of the year, Chanel’s Métiers d’Art collection is always one of the most awaited and spectacular fashion events of the year. 

“Chanel will present its 2020/21 Métiers d’Art collection with a real-life fashion show that will be shot on December 1st, 2020 at the Château de Chenonceau, and then revealed to the public on December 3rd at 7pm Paris time (CET) on Chanel.com and Chanel’s social media platforms. However, because of the new lockdown measures and public gathering restrictions recently established for France, the show will be taking place without attendance of guests,” the house explained in a statement.
 
Chanel first began staging Métiers d’art shows back in 2002, to highlight the unique skills of a rare collection of artisan houses with the group, specialists in embroidery, millinery, pearls, boot-making, feathers and other specialist skills. At its heart is French savoir-faire – resources like Maison Michel for hats; Causse Gantier for gloves; boots by Massaro; costume jewelry by Goossens and Lemarié for feathers and flowers.

 
This would have been the second Métiers d’Art collection designed by the house’s creative director Virginie Viard. For her debut in December 2019, she recreated Gabrielle Chanel's iconic apartment for one night only at one of the luxury house's other favorite venues: The Grand Palais. 
 
Since its debut almost two decades ago, the house has staged audacious shows in such far flung locations as Rome, Salzburg, Mumbai and New York. Under former artistic director Karl Lagerfeld the Métiers d’Art toured the planet, making stops in 2009 on the Bund in Shanghai, and in 2012 in Edinburgh’s ruined Linlithgow Palace, the ancient home of the kings of Scotland.