The CHANEL 2024.25 Métiers d’art campaign unfolds between two cities that shaped its vision: Paris, home to Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment at 31 rue Cambon, and Hangzhou, where the show took place by the edge of West Lake. Shot by fashion photographer Mikael Jansson, the campaign returns to the misted atmosphere of Lake Xihu at dusk, mirroring the poetic panels of a 19th-century Coromandel screen that once stood in Mademoiselle’s apartment. This screen, with its lacquered imagery of Hangzhou’s landscapes, becomes both anchor and compass for the narrative that unfolds in garments, textures, and movement.
Chanel ambassadors Tilda Swinton and Liu Wen and top model Lulu Tenney star in the campaign, carrying the story across time and place. Their presence, framed by subdued light and textural complexity, anchors the garments in character and cinematic pacing rather than static display.
The collection explores contrast through light, structure, and material. Liu Wen appears in a pleated black charmeuse dress embroidered with floral motifs and finished with a sculptural ruffled collar, echoing the rhythm of dusk. In another look, she wears an ivory silk satin jacket with matching trousers, the entire ensemble pleated into soft, weightless folds. Each piece balances surface decoration with shape, using the techniques of Lognon and Lemarié to create movement through construction rather than excess.
Throughout the collection, textures shift from matte to reflective, dense to sheer. A long black leather coat, fastened with a camellia brooch by Lemarié, sets the tone for outerwear, while a black embossed canvas pea coat pairs with quilted wedge-heel patent boots to suggest formality made practical. Eveningwear leans into softness, with gowns and negligees in gold lace or layered ruffles. Lemarié’s feathered flounces and Lognon’s advanced pleating heighten the sensual direction of these silhouettes without breaking their clarity.
The visual motifs from the Coromandel screen reappear subtly on garments and accessories. A jumpsuit features reinterpretations of the screen’s botanical imagery, layered under tailored pieces. Other references appear in floral embroideries by Lesage – particularly camellia and lotus patterns – cascading across dresses and suiting. Shades of jade, pink, and sky blue hint at lacquered surfaces, while darker tones suggest worn wood or mirrored lake water at night.
Accessories build out the collection’s story of motion and memory. Travel bags, vanity cases, and the CHANEL 25 bag – rendered in quilted leather and black tweed – tie back to the idea of a personal journey. Goossens adds jewelry shaped like medallions and cuffs, referencing ancient prunus fruit and glazed ceramics. Footwear by Massaro includes mid-calf boots and pointed slippers, with some designs embroidered or finished in high-gloss textures reminiscent of porcelain and lacquerware.
The Métiers d’art 2024/25 collection is shaped through the collective expertise of the artisans at le19M. Montex contributes phosphorescent braiding; Paloma creates ornamental frogging on jackets; and satin linings underscore structure with softness. Each look draws from Gabrielle Chanel’s vocabulary – mandarin collars, straight lines, precise layering – reinterpreted through the lens of contemporary craftsmanship.
