Chanel revealed its latest Métiers d’Art collection in the Senegalese capital of Dakar – and made history being the first European luxury brand to host a fashion show in Sub-Saharan Africa. And what a way to do it: never one to do things by halves, Chanel put on one of its glitziest, grandest and most spectacular shows to date, the jewel in the crown of its three-day programme of events.
Taking place just after the twentieth edition of Dakar Fashion Week (Africa’s longest-running fashion event), the Métiers d’Art show acted as a celebration of – and contribution to – Dakar’s vibrant cultural scene. Artistic director Virginie Viard and the wider Chanel team spent the best part of three years putting the event together, the idea itself being born from a conversation with friends of the House who have lived and carried out artistic projects in the city.
‘I wanted it to happen gently, over several days of deep, respectful dialoguing,’ explains Viard. ‘Real dialogues, nourished over the long term… It is this human and warm dimension that motivates my work and that I try to re-transcribe. I put all my soul into it. These marvellous encounters from which artistic adventures like this one are both, that’s what drives me.
Held in the former Palais de Justice in the centre of Senegal’s capital city, the Métiers d’Art show drew a guest list of 850, including the likes of Pharrell Williams, Naomi Campbell, Nile Rodgers and Princess Caroline of Monaco, alongside a whole host of local luminaries who stole the FROW show in their distinctive looks.
