« The New York subway belongs to everyone. Students and change actors, politicians and teenagers, everyone borrows. There are enigmatic and wonderful encounters, there are pop and eclectic figures. Everyone goes somewhere, everyone has a singular look. Like in a movie, they're the heroes of their own history. » Matthew Blazy
In the New York subway, we are all equal. Human life is there, in all its diversity. In constant movement, still in the process, the subway is a New York condensation, and a metaphor for fashion. At each station, something is set, a scene is played, showing the promise of a captivating encounter. Here, the metro embodies the « Sub(way)-culture » Chanel, where extraordinary becomes extraordinary, with the help of the Houses of Art. It is also the place chosen for the first Art Crafts collection by Matthieu Blazy, Artistic Director of Chanel Fashion Activities.
The collection features a joyous gallery of characters, as it came out of a movie. There we meet women from the world and superheroes, teenagers and retirees, working girls and performers, and moms pressed, each – including Coco Chanel herself – seen through a film prism. In short, the fascist and tumult of Big Apple, a city lived and dreamed.
Travelling in space and time, from Art Deco extravagances from the 1920s to the 2020s, this encounter of eras and characters composes a non-linear narrative, carried by the know-how of the Crafts of Art. Malicious and chic, pragmatic and eccentric, a love story between Paris and New York is written, combining the exceptional know-how of 19M Art Houses and pop inspirations. Each creation is a declaration of love for an exceptional craft, and the intensity of the emotions it provides.
From the encounter of the professions of art and pop culture, born a style with mischievous elegance. With sophisticated embroidery, the « Denim lingerie » evokes a western wardrobe of a new genre; From the archives and reconfigured, an Art Deco dress combines Lesage embroidery with Lemarie's feather fringes – a new generation boy with a chino illusion pants. Once again revisited and lit up by a Chanel chain, the men's shirt plays, this time, the tiled flannel, with a sumptuous tweed of curly wool. Audacious and fanciful changes abound, as do hidden pleasures reserved for those who carry creations. The minaudières have their little secrets, like this oyster that reveals a pearl under its shell. Tourism memories revisited, peanut bags and enamelled apples display their malicious intentions. They join a profusion of jewellery, where glass cabochons with the appearance of ice cubes are alongside Art Deco hummingbirds, shaped by Goossens goldsmiths. Many hand-painted silk linings feature New York patterns. You can even see Coco Chanel walking his dog at the foot of the famous skyline.
The familiar silhouettes of each neighbourhood, the idea of « urban jungle » and the animals present in the city – whether domestic, mystical or mythical – mingle in the collection. Catwoman or catwoman with superpowers? Whatever, she wears an elegant flaming tweed with leopard motifs, specially made by Lesage and hand woven. Sometimes you can see a fascinator with the Parisian capelier Maison Michel. Who is this unknown with discreet chic, in his black Chanel tailor, short and impeccable cut? She wears a classic flap bag, inlaid leather with golden scales, giving the illusion of an alligator immersed in gold. Further on, a woman stands out in her tulip skirt with hand painted leopard motifs. The fringes of each petal alone asked Lemarie artisans for several days of work. Who is this woman in a dress suit cut in bias, like the 1930s? The fabric is adorned with a multitude of sparkling fish – an Art Deco motif – which are fluidly superimposed and made by the artisans of Atelier Montex. As for the classic slingbacks, handcrafted by Massaro, they give their final touch to many silhouettes, made of delicate kid – as designed by Coco Chanel – or, contemporary version, in spotted animal-printed shearling.
Inspired by Gabrielle Chanel's stay in New York in 1931, during his trip to Hollywood, Matthieu Blazy inscribed the collection in an imaginary film. Samuel Goldwin, a film magnate, fascinated by the world of fashion, had the idea of appealing to her. However, it was in New York, much more than in Hollywood, that Gabrielle Chanel could verify Chanel's universal appeal. Just before returning to Paris, she found that many New Yorkers from all walks of life had adopted the Chanel style in their own way. This pop celebration of his creations appeared to him as the most sincere of gratitudes. Gabrielle Chanel returned to Europe with a light heart, one of the many reasons why Chanel ❤ New York.