Chanel Presents Its “Métiers D’Art” Pre-Fall 202/23 Collection In Dakar

The house travelled all the way to Africa, marking it as the first-ever European luxury fashion house to do so.

This week on December 8th, Luxury fashion brand CHANEL unveiled its most-anticipated Pre-Fall 2022/2023 Métiers d’Art collection in the Senegalese capital of Dakar – and simultaneously made history as 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.

Every December, Chanel launches its Pre-Fall 2023, known as the “Métiers d’Art” collection to celebrate artisans’ incredible skills and craftsmanship. The Métiers d’Art runway show was part of a three-day cultural event that gathered across different artistic backgrounds, students, art lovers, fashion journalists and editors.

“Going beyond the runway show, it’s the event as a whole that I took into account. We’ve been thinking about it for three years. I wanted it to happen gently, over several days of deep, respectful dialoguing,” said Chanel artistic director Virginie Viard in the collection notes.

Paris, Shanghai, New York, Tokyo and Montecarlo were some of the chosen locations to showcase the “Métiers d’Art”. Now, Senegal is the setting for the current runway show. This was the first time Chanel, or any other European or US-based fashion brand for that matter, showed in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Taking inspiration from the seventies spirit, the collection embodied the decade with freedom and energy. Creative director Virginie Viard wanted to explore the ‘70s and the artistic scene of the leading cultural capital and its disciplines to the full, and as Dakar is an influential artistic capital on the international scene in all fields, Viard could take advantage of it and apply Senegal-based fresh and creative ideas into the collection. Virginie worked with friends of the House that live or work in Dakar to highlight the influential artistic scene, as well as the fashion, music, and contemporary art communities.

This has become a celebration of the codes by the house, even within the floral motifs. The embroidery work, with its clusters of camellias, entwined pearls, forests of jewelled buttons and dazzling sequins, harmonised with that of black or white coated and pleated lace.

Another big element of this runway show was music and dance. Upon arrival, the crowd walked into a welcome from Slow Show by École des Sables, choreographed by Dimitri Chamblas, then lead to the École des Sables dancers joining singer Obree Daman for a performance before DBN Gogo gave a musical finale to close out the show.

“The former Palais de Justice in Dakar, where not only the runway show, but also a major part of the accompanying artistic programme are taking place, is one of the most beautiful venues we have ever presented a collection in. It was an obvious choice, and has been a source of inspiration as well,” said Virginie Viard.

The collection paid tribute to the joy and savoir-faire of fashion with influences from the pop/soul/funk era of the 1970s. It featured flared trousers, seventies collars, long, fitted coats, hippie-chic prints, platform shows, oversized and colourful sweatshirts embroidered with flowers, short dresses, and multicoloured tweeds.  The lion motif that appeared on jewellery and bags was a double reference to the emblem of Senegal and the symbol of Coco Chanel.

Wearable bags were also part of the collection, like the Classic Flap-turned lunch bag clutch and a double top handle bag with a long, flat body. What’s most notable were the colours used: bold shades of red, orange and yellow. Models also wore fashion pieces in a fantastic mix of patterns, layered accessories, denim adorned with the iconic CHANEL motif.

Take a closer look at Chanel Métiers d’Art Pre-Fall 2022/23 Collection