Set in Hangzhou’s West Lake, the collection celebrates the skill and artistry of the House’s craftspeople, as Chanel navigates a pivotal moment without a captain
The annual Chanel Métiers d’Art collection—a reverent salute to craftsmanship—is a ritual of refinement, now spanning over two decades. This year for its Pre-Fall 2025 showcase, the magic unfolds without a captain at the helm. With the absence of Virginie Viard since June, and the House still searching for its next creative director, it is the Studio team that shoulders the legacy. The spirit of the house is intact, though the question lingers: How long can the creative engine run without a new guiding hand? As this season’s show proves, time still moves in Chanel’s favor.
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Set against the mist-laden expanse of Hangzhou’s West Lake, a place that never saw Gabrielle Chanel herself, but one that so inspired her with the allure of ancient Chinese paravents, the show unveiled. It was essentially a tribute, her journey where one needn’t travel to feel the pull of faraway lands. The house’s inspiration, in this case, is not just a map but a feeling. Here, under the moonlight, the silken wood planks, elevated above the water, seemed to merge with the fog—a tribute to a woman who, despite never having set foot in this land, carried its essence in her soul.
The silhouettes moved with an energy that captivated, yet flowed with the subtlety of the night wind. They floated, much like the House itself: ever-moving, ever-shifting, but grounded in the craft of the artisans who make it real. The meticulous hands of over 100 craftspeople from Chanel’s subsidiaries—embroiderers, feather workers, goldsmiths, and pleaters—stitched the soul of this collection into being. Every piece bore with it the weight of their craftsmanship, where the magic is made. The collection unfurled like a storybook, each page filled with jewels of detail: floral motifs embroidered with jade green, soft pinks, and sky blues. These were echoes of the lacquered screens Gabrielle adored, patterns drawn from the past yet entirely alive in the present.
The collection spoke of the quiet complexity of the night. The garments were lush, their details sometimes hidden in plain sight. Pleats draped meticulously, piping ran like rivers of light, sequins and crystals formed their own language. A sense of gilded fluidity ran through the designs, moving with the models in a hypnotic dance.
The show felt like walking through a dream, where the magic was tangible and the craftsmanship palpable. Phosphorescent braids shimmered like the stars, while long, tailored coats and envelope-shaped pockets brought mysterious grandeur. Of course, the timeless tweeds appeared both ancient and modern, their texture familiar, yet new.
The artisans’ work, often unnoticed in the glamorous haze, became the true protagonist here. This collection, as dynamic as it was delicate, showcased the power of inspiration, and of the transformative magic that can happen when true craftsmanship meets a vision. Even though Coco Chanel never ventured to Hangzhou, her house stands, as a testament to the idea that the world, in all its vastness, can come to you when the heart knows where to look.
In the end, it’s the craftspeople who bring the story full circle. It’s in their hands that Chanel’s essence lives, thrives, and pulses with majesty. The magic, after all, is not just in the vision. It’s in the execution. But as the House celebrates two successful shows without a creative director, one must wonder: Where does Chanel go from here? With a legacy so rich and a future still becoming, the question becomes not just about the next leader, but about how a house, built by visionaries and carried by the hands of its artisans, will travel to the future.
Photos: CHANEL
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