What do Dakar, Manchester (United Kingdom) and Marseille have in common? These are three cities that we do not spontaneously associate with the world of fashion and luxury, but in which Chanel has chosen to show over the last eighteen months. Thursday May 2, the Parisian house took over the roof terrace of Le Corbusier’s Cité radieuse, in Marseille, to present its 2024-2025 cruise fashion show. The six hundred guests, spread over two shows due to the limited capacity of the building listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, arrived calmly and under a fine rain, which perhaps discouraged the onlookers, numerous despite the presence of celebrities such as Lily-Rose Depp and Marion Cotillard.
In Marseille, as in Dakar and Manchester, there is no Chanel boutique, it is not a question of coming to do business there. “But these are inspiring cities, says Bruno Pavlovsky, president of the brand’s fashion activities. Luxury should not be the prerogative of a few heavenly and protected places, but connected to the reality of the world. This allows us to broaden the imagination around the brand while respecting its codes. »
The choice of unique destinations is in fact linked to a stable stylistic proposition which has proven itself in stores – Chanel has crossed the threshold of 16 billion euros in turnover in 2022. Since Virginie Viard succeeded Karl Lagerfeld as artistic director in 2019, she follows in the tradition of her predecessor, who himself had skillfully dusted off the brand codes defined by Gabrielle Chanel: a tweed suit base, animated by double C logos, pearls, jewelry belts, black and white; comfortable clothes and shoes that give you a confident look.
This collection is no exception, with, in addition, a Marseille filter. “The sun, the architecture, the music and the dance: Marseille is also for me a very strong feeling of freedom. I was inspired by the codes of life, everyday life and everything that invites movement”, explains Virginie Viard, for whom the Cité radieuse, the first housing unit (in a series of five) by Le Corbusier, in the brutalist style, built between 1947 and 1952, is the ideal setting for “transcribe the energy of the city”.
Tweed Cyclist
The Phocaean city is evoked through cute marine elements, embroidery of small fish or fishing nets, and shell pendants. Wavelets of ruffles adorn jerseys, tweeds and sequined jackets. The geometric shapes and primary colors of the Radiant City are evoked in the grid of a dress or the embroidered sequin pockets. There are also some sportswear elements – cropped jogging pants with embroidered braid, tweed biker jacket, hooded sweater – and white openwork cotton dresses that evoke Provence. A complete range, very “Chanelesque”.
Showing in an environment that is not associated with the world of luxury requires more effort and finesse than taking up residence in Monaco or Capri (Italy). Chanel is aware of this, and, in Dakar as in Marseille, the Parisian brand has taken care not only to take advantage of the decor, but also to invest in the city. In Dakar, it deployed a whole arsenal of initiatives, from support for the cotton agricultural sector to the renovation of the old courthouse, including collaboration with local artisans.
In Marseille, the system is a little lighter: the 19M – the cultural space bringing together all of Chanel’s artistic crafts – will take over Fort Saint-Jean from May 3 to 26, one of the sites of the Musée des civilizations de Europe and the Mediterranean (MuCEM), for a collective exhibition, round tables and participatory workshops devoted to embroidery, free of charge. “A parade is twenty minutes. We wanted to leave something concrete and accessible for the people of Marseille”, justifies Bruno Pavlovsky. The 1,600 residents of the Cité radieuse who lived together for two weeks with the parade installation teams were not able to attend, but were treated to a cocktail to watch the film of the show.
At the city level, Chanel, which organized its event in collaboration with local authorities, seems to have been rather well received: “We came a little on tiptoe, without really knowing what to expectadmits Bruno Pavlovsky. But whether it was the town hall, the MuCEM, the artists… all our partners welcomed us very well. »
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In the Cours Julien district, we come across a few posters “Chanel get lost” alongside others criticizing the coming of the Olympic Games. “Like most people I know, I am very happy that they are comingsays Mélanie Gomis, fashion designer from Marseille. It shows that we can associate Marseille with the idea of luxury or couture. » “Their choice to come here surprised meexplains Alix de Moussac, founder of the La Nouvelle brand. But it makes the city shine and gets people talking about it for good reasons. »
In recent months, Marseille has mainly made headlines for the resurgence of its drug trafficking, which has caused forty-nine deaths in 2023 – a shooting broke out again three days before the parade. “Marseille has problems with drugs and delinquency. But it also has other facets, and we want to show by our visit that this city is worthy of interest”explains Bruno Pavlovsky.
In addition to the fashion show, the exhibition, videos and photos taken in the city to accompany the collection, Chanel also took her six hundred guests to different restaurants and museums. Secondly, it will also organize a “replica” of this show in a strategic market, as it reproduced the December 2022 parade in Dakar six months later in Tokyo. A postcard from Marseille which, according to all logic, should land in China or the United States.