The show was set in West Lake in China—the country Coco Chanel had deep admiration for throughout her life.
“Gabrielle Chanel never traveled to Hangzhou. In the coming days, the House of Chanel finally will.”
These were the words the House of Chanel used to open its poetic 2024/25 Métiers d’Art show in Hangzhou, China last Dec. 3. The exhibition is a dreamy reflection of its founder’s fondness for Chinese culture seen in her opulent Rue Cambon apartment in Paris, France.
In her life that spanned 87 long years, the renowned French fashion designer never got to set foot and explore the rich culture of her fantasy destination. She would instead decorate her living spaces—such as her Parisian apartment, French Riviera villa, and the Ritz—with chinoiserie motifs and lacquered Coromandel folding partitions.
She was 18 when she first caught sight of a richly decorated Coromandel screen and had been in love with it ever since. “I nearly fainted with joy when entering a Chinese shop, I saw a Coromandel for the first time,” Wallpaper* Magazine quoted Coco as saying. From then, the designer went on to own 32 of these decorative partitions throughout her lifetime, with eight of them featured in her Rue Cambon apartment.
The largest among these decorative partitions depicts the West Lake in Hangzhou, the capital of the historical province of Zhejiang. The freshwater lake is famous for the scenic beauty formed by its manmade islands and four causeways, decorative pagodas, and temples along the shoreline. It is of great cultural significance, especially for artists and writers who take inspiration from the lake’s “perfect balance between nature and man.” All these led to West Lake’s inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2011.
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On Monday, the House of Chanel proved that Coco’s admiration for Chinese culture stems from true beauty and is one that has no end, when it unveiled its 2024/25 Métiers d’Art collection at the West Lake in Hangzhou.
Held in many cities around the world since 2002, Chanel’s annual Métiers d’Art show celebrates the Maison’s exceptional craftspeople, including embroiderers, feather workers, shoemakers, and hatters, who play an important role in the production of its coveted collections.
For this year, over 1,200 guests were ferried to West Lake on private wooden boats to witness the unveiling of its latest Métiers d’Art lineup crafted by the house’s studio team. The show began just after sunset, with traditional drums beating on the catwalk. The series of wooden runways hover just above the lake’s surface to create an illusion that the models are walking on the water.
The dreamy setup, which can be likened to a Chinese ink painting, served as the perfect backdrop for the collection that evokes a surreal nighttime mood. Opening the show was an all-black outfit comprising a sweeping coat dress complemented by glittering thigh-high boots. This was followed by lushly decorated tweed jackets, coordinates, and coats.
The collection blended Chanel’s timeless silhouettes with meticulous detailing. Long coats in satin, velvet, and tweed are embroidered with flowers, inspired by Coco’s love for florals as they were often used in Chinese artworks. Intricate pleats and piping, as well as shimmering sequins and crystals, ran throughout the collection.
Effortless elegance is seen in its range of long dresses, belted jackets, voluminous skirts, cropped trousers, and patterned bodysuits. Meanwhile, a more casual tone is set by the collection’s Bermuda shorts, denim skirts, and oversized cardigans.
The collection’s color palette draws inspiration from Coromandel screens, with jade green, pink, and sky blue representing the lacquer’s brilliance, while black and brown embody their wooden elements. The frequent use of black is also inspired by the jet-black ink of Chinese calligraphy and paintings.
Several pieces in the collection recreate the decorations of Chinese screens, from lurex jumpsuits and tights to faded blue jeans that mimic the ripples of West Lake. Accessories likewise evoked a sense of exploration through quilted box bags, thigh-high boots in silk and patent leather, and sandals jazzed up with quilted patterns.
View the other highlights of the collection below.
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