These Accessories Showcase The Dazzling Savoir-Faire Of Chanel's Metiers d'Art Ateliers
Because at Chanel, even the accessories get the couture level treatment of artisanal wizardry.
By Gordon Ng,
Every year, Chanel presents its Metiers d'Art collection that's a real treat of technique and craftsmanship. The maisons d'art that Chanel keeps a close relationship with get to really shine in these collections, which are meant to showcase their virtuosity and artisanal skills.
This season, creative director Virginie Viard took the Metiers d'Art collection to a French castle that used to be the residence of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici, the lover and queen respectively of King Henry II of France.
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The historical setting led Viard down a stylistic path of renaissance silhouettes and details, as well as black and white checker board motifs that quite literally reference the floors of the castle.
And while the fashion makes full use of the many artisans – whose skills span embroidery, feathers and metalworking, among many others – the accessories are no slouch either. That makes the Metiers d'Art collection one of the most interesting accessories collections to discover, because even the bags and shoes are suffused with extraordinary savoir-faire. Here are 8 such pieces from this year's collection worth checking out.
The metal details on this AirPod case features a special patina, developed by the jewellers at Goossens, which is applied by hand using a paintbrush. The founder of the house, Robert Goossens, began collaborating with Gabrielle Chanel on jewellery when the two first met in 1952.
The plush velvet of this bag is richly decorated with the image of a castle, with embroidery courtesy of Atelier Montex. The embroideries are made out of pearls, sequins, crystal strass and strass cupchains, and require between 15 to 30 hours' of hand work.
This classic flap bag is actually assembled by hand from pieces of silk – waxed to create volume – that are sewn together to create a seamless, quilted checkerboard pattern. At each intersection of fabric, there are embroideries by couture flower specialists Maison Lemarie, of pearls, strass and golden washers that require meticulous attention.
This veiled hat was developed with the milliners of Maison Michel, and are made from velvet-lined black felt, adorned with a veil made of silk tulle, and finished with a grosgrain ribbon and bow – taking three hours and 45 minutes of work per hat.
Also by Maison Michel is this hat, which is shaped using traditional millinery savoir-faire techniques and hand crafted on a wood block. Part of the four hours and 30 minutes that goes into making each one is dedicated to a special method of brushing the felt fabric to give it a lustrous, velvety finish.
Gloves may seem a simple affair, but there's a romantic history to it. Causse, which has a history of over 120 years, was famously the maker of Karl Lagerfeld's fingerless leather gloves. It joined the Chanel Metiers d'Art network in 2012, and has continued to supply the house with these couture-level accessories. This pair also features ruffles that were developed by the feather and flower house Lemarie.
The boot makers at Massaro were responsible for developing the house's iconic two-tone shoes that Gabrielle Chanel first presented in 1957. This pair, with that recognizable silhouette and style, features glitter that's fixed onto fabric using an air-powered machine. That ensures an even, regular coverage of glitter on the fabric, which is then cut precisely to form the shoe's upper.
Also from Massaro: this pair of shoes which are set with heat-welded strass crystals. The heel, in particular, is manually shaped and lacquered in black, before the strass crystals are set.