Welcome to Manchester! Chanel invites us to discover its super prestigious Métiers d’art collection. Open your eyes wide, there will be savoir faire! In Manchester's Northern Quarter, Chanel transformed Thomas Street into a catwalk. It’s the street of bars, restaurants. You can even get a tattoo there if you get enough pints. The Mancunian guests explain the specificity of this iconic street. Model Jade NGuyen feels like she's in Harry Potter. The big bosses are there: Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel fashion, who has given a thousand interviews over the past three days, including to the local press such as the Manchester Evening News, and the artistic directors of the various maisons d’art! Loic is delighted, he speaks to the children of Oasis: Lennon and Gene Gallagher, he recognized them thanks to their iconic eyebrows. We meet the extremely charming Katana sisters who give us a local accent lesson. But first let's go back to the fittings - which we call accessorizing at Chanel - which took place the two days before. Amelia Gray is super comfortable in her outfit. Virginie Viard, very relaxed, adds jewelry, fancy headbands from Maison Michel, and the necessary bags to the silhouettes. It’s the Métiers d’Art défilé, an extraordinary collection since it is specific to Chanel. Every year, the house creates a storyline to showcase the extent of the talents of its craft houses. Lemarié! Massaro! Goossens! Let's visit them at “Le 19M”, in Paris. We zoom on the finest details! On Thomas Street, the parade begins. Gisele Norman opens the dance. Then Karen Elson, visibly moved since she spent her childhood in Manchester. Bright colors worthy of the outfits of monarchs wanting to be seen in the crowd… Coordinated camellias, handmade at Lemarié. References to the glory of the country are hidden everywhere: the green of the English countryside, the diagonals of the decor of the legendary Hacienda night-club, the crests of soccer jerseys, and embroidered tea cups, the mini-skirts of the swinging 1960s. Alexa Chung appreciates the references. Karen Elson closes the show in a dazzling all-black dress, totally embroidered, in stretch velvet, a tribute to the nighttime outings of Mancuniennes who never seem to be cold on Saturday night. It’s a standing ovation of the crowd for Virginie Viard.
CHANEL: HELLO MANCHESTER! THE METIERS D’ART MEGASHOW! By Loic Prigent
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Loic Prigent
