Sitting down with Chanel’s President of Fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, only a matter of months after the passing of the house’s
legendary creative director Karl Lagerfeld and the subsequent appointment of his second-in-command
Virginie Viard, could well be a slightly fraught affair. After all, this is one
of the world’s most revered – and lucrative – luxury brands, and it has just
lost the man who ensured its sustained success throughout his over 30-year
reign. In fact, so profound has his impact been on the brand that today
Lagerfeld’s name is almost as interwoven with the Chanel narrative as that of
Coco herself. But in the sticky Shanghai heat, amidst the opening celebrations
surrounding the latest and largest iteration of Chanel’s travelling Mademoiselle Privé exhibition,
Pavlovsky is resolutely calm. “Nobody is eternal,” he smiles. “The brand is
stronger than that.”
legendary creative director Karl Lagerfeld and the subsequent appointment of his second-in-command
Virginie Viard, could well be a slightly fraught affair. After all, this is one
of the world’s most revered – and lucrative – luxury brands, and it has just
lost the man who ensured its sustained success throughout his over 30-year
reign. In fact, so profound has his impact been on the brand that today
Lagerfeld’s name is almost as interwoven with the Chanel narrative as that of
Coco herself. But in the sticky Shanghai heat, amidst the opening celebrations
surrounding the latest and largest iteration of Chanel’s travelling Mademoiselle Privé exhibition,
Pavlovsky is resolutely calm. “Nobody is eternal,” he smiles. “The brand is
stronger than that.”
The 6000 square feet that comprise Mademoiselle Privé are, in manyways, testament to the fact. “If you understand Mademoiselle Privé, you understand
the brand,” explains Pavlovsky. “We are not talking about product – we are
talking about Mademoiselle Chanel: her posture, her vision.” An enormous
exploration of the house’s three core pillars – haute couture, high jewellery
and fragrance – it showcases the profound confidence of a brand whose codes are
set in stone. Where Karl Lagerfeld excelled was in modernising them: in
enlisting the couture ateliers to turn their hand to fabrics like concrete or
neoprene; in dressing his cool girl muses in astonishing diamonds; in
maintaining the legendary renown of Chanel No. 5. If CocoChanelestablished what is now the world’s longest-standing
couturier, then Karl was responsible for ensuring she retained contemporary
relevance.
the brand,” explains Pavlovsky. “We are not talking about product – we are
talking about Mademoiselle Chanel: her posture, her vision.” An enormous
exploration of the house’s three core pillars – haute couture, high jewellery
and fragrance – it showcases the profound confidence of a brand whose codes are
set in stone. Where Karl Lagerfeld excelled was in modernising them: in
enlisting the couture ateliers to turn their hand to fabrics like concrete or
neoprene; in dressing his cool girl muses in astonishing diamonds; in
maintaining the legendary renown of Chanel No. 5. If CocoChanelestablished what is now the world’s longest-standing
couturier, then Karl was responsible for ensuring she retained contemporary
relevance.
The most remarkable aspect of the exhibition is the couturetableaux installed behind the door of Shanghai’s very own 31 Rue Cambon: 33silhouettes taken from six couture collections, from Spring/Summer 2013 to Autumn/Winter2018. But even more impressive than the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hours
of labour that go into each of the looks – the extraordinary laminated lace,
the hand-painted pencil shavings that appear as wooden ruffles, the laser-cut
tweed suits that technically reinvented Chanel’s most renowned designs – is the
idea that each has an impact that reverberates beyond the lucky few who can
afford them.
of labour that go into each of the looks – the extraordinary laminated lace,
the hand-painted pencil shavings that appear as wooden ruffles, the laser-cut
tweed suits that technically reinvented Chanel’s most renowned designs – is the
idea that each has an impact that reverberates beyond the lucky few who can
afford them.
While the garments that comprise Chanel couture might only be
acquired by the most privileged elite, their astonishing creation significantly
informs the rest of the house – both in terms of luxury branding and technical
finesse. Lagerfeld was famously obsessed with both the present and the future –
after all, as he told Suzy Menkes for Vogue before his passing, “Fashion is about change – and I
like change. I do it like I breathe.” The innovation he introduced to
couture and ready-to-wear was first explored through the laboratories staffed
by his petits mains, who would develop never-before-used fabrics and techniques
to add to their repertoire: “Haute couture is a kind of research and
development,” explains Pavlovsky.
acquired by the most privileged elite, their astonishing creation significantly
informs the rest of the house – both in terms of luxury branding and technical
finesse. Lagerfeld was famously obsessed with both the present and the future –
after all, as he told Suzy Menkes for Vogue before his passing, “Fashion is about change – and I
like change. I do it like I breathe.” The innovation he introduced to
couture and ready-to-wear was first explored through the laboratories staffed
by his petits mains, who would develop never-before-used fabrics and techniques
to add to their repertoire: “Haute couture is a kind of research and
development,” explains Pavlovsky.
When, in 1997, the Chanel subsidiary Paraffection was set up to
purchase Paris’s couture ateliers in order to sustain their craftsmanship,
it ensured the safety of that strategy: a set of dying industries were
revitalised anew, powered by the strength of Chanel financing (and the apparent
equity of the deal: there’s no monopoly on their expertise, and every métier is
permitted to work for other houses). When last year, for the first time in its
118-year history, Chanel released its figures, they proved the success of that
mechanism: fashion, rather than fragrance or beauty, is what drives the
business (those figures also indicated that the company’s growth is
significantly indebted to the Asian market). “Everything we’re doing at Chanel
is [preparing] for the next 20 years,” says Pavlovsky of the initial decision
to invest in the company. Two decades on and those ateliers “are the key to our
product,” says Pavlovsky. “We need to have that know-how.”
purchase Paris’s couture ateliers in order to sustain their craftsmanship,
it ensured the safety of that strategy: a set of dying industries were
revitalised anew, powered by the strength of Chanel financing (and the apparent
equity of the deal: there’s no monopoly on their expertise, and every métier is
permitted to work for other houses). When last year, for the first time in its
118-year history, Chanel released its figures, they proved the success of that
mechanism: fashion, rather than fragrance or beauty, is what drives the
business (those figures also indicated that the company’s growth is
significantly indebted to the Asian market). “Everything we’re doing at Chanel
is [preparing] for the next 20 years,” says Pavlovsky of the initial decision
to invest in the company. Two decades on and those ateliers “are the key to our
product,” says Pavlovsky. “We need to have that know-how.”
Inviting the public to immerse themselves in that savoir-faire,
then, is a smart marketing move: you’d be hard pressed not to wander among some
of these looks and become entirely convinced by the strength of the Chanel
message: phenomenal clothing made with exquisite elegance. Then, there’s the
high jewellery: Chanel’s equivalent of diamond-encrusted couture. On show are
recreations of Coco’s 1932 designs, alongside the sort of contemporary pieces
that ought require an army of security: a 307 carat rutilated quartz mounted on
a 32.98 carat diamond; a golden plastron starring a 18-carat gold plastron
starring a 6.52-carat stone. Presented against a backdrop of lacquered screens
created by Chinese artist Wu Guanzhen, and amidst a gallery of Karl Lagerfeld’s
muses wearing his understanding of Coco’s codes, it makes for arresting impact.
then, is a smart marketing move: you’d be hard pressed not to wander among some
of these looks and become entirely convinced by the strength of the Chanel
message: phenomenal clothing made with exquisite elegance. Then, there’s the
high jewellery: Chanel’s equivalent of diamond-encrusted couture. On show are
recreations of Coco’s 1932 designs, alongside the sort of contemporary pieces
that ought require an army of security: a 307 carat rutilated quartz mounted on
a 32.98 carat diamond; a golden plastron starring a 18-carat gold plastron
starring a 6.52-carat stone. Presented against a backdrop of lacquered screens
created by Chinese artist Wu Guanzhen, and amidst a gallery of Karl Lagerfeld’s
muses wearing his understanding of Coco’s codes, it makes for arresting impact.
“We have a lot of fans here in China,” reflects Pavlovsky. “And
need to give them the opportunity to better understand what Mademoiselle
Chanel, and what the Chanel of today, is about… What you see here is the future
of the brand, because these pillars will continue to incarnate what is so
special, what is unique at Chanel.” During a time when speculation surrounding
the brand’s future is, understandably, at an all-time high, saturating one of
their most important markets in the luxuriant essence of its allure makes
perfectly-timed sense. From the array of gowns to the displays of diamonds; the
walls of Chanel No. 5 to the cinema-scale screening sessions of Lagerfeld’s
films, you can imagine the fans will find plenty to sate them.
need to give them the opportunity to better understand what Mademoiselle
Chanel, and what the Chanel of today, is about… What you see here is the future
of the brand, because these pillars will continue to incarnate what is so
special, what is unique at Chanel.” During a time when speculation surrounding
the brand’s future is, understandably, at an all-time high, saturating one of
their most important markets in the luxuriant essence of its allure makes
perfectly-timed sense. From the array of gowns to the displays of diamonds; the
walls of Chanel No. 5 to the cinema-scale screening sessions of Lagerfeld’s
films, you can imagine the fans will find plenty to sate them.
But perhaps more importantly, Shanghai’s Madmoiselle Privé is a reminderthat Chanel’s codes, and the infrastructure that has been built around them,ought long survive a single designer. “The job done by Karl over the past ten
years was in preparation for the next step,” says Bruno. “What you see here is
the future of the brand, because these pillars will continue to incarnate what
is so special, what is unique at Chanel […] Virginie is the same but she is
different. She will probably bring some femininity to the Chanel look, but it
will stay the Chanel look. We are enthusiastic for the future. Let’s see the
Cruise collection in two weeks…” We’ll be waiting.
years was in preparation for the next step,” says Bruno. “What you see here is
the future of the brand, because these pillars will continue to incarnate what
is so special, what is unique at Chanel […] Virginie is the same but she is
different. She will probably bring some femininity to the Chanel look, but it
will stay the Chanel look. We are enthusiastic for the future. Let’s see the
Cruise collection in two weeks…” We’ll be waiting.