Chanel Returns to Italy: The Métiers d’Art Show at Florence’s Leopolda

The haute couture maison — directed by Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld’s successor — has always presented its Métiers d’Art collection in a different city around the world, but the pandemic had kept the previous edition in France. The Florence show is therefore the first to be staged outside French borders, and it marks an important moment: the resumption of activity and Chanel’s return to Italy after seven years away (the last was in Rome, in 2015).

The event

To trail and announce the show, Remembers Studio created an animated film in which the models appear in cartoon form, flying from Paris on camellias — Chanel’s emblematic flower — all the way to the Ponte Vecchio, crossing the waters of the Arno before taking to the runway in the flesh from 7:00 pm inside the former mid-nineteenth-century railway station, Florence’s Stazione Leopolda. A black catwalk dressed with oversized white camellias and pleated drapes hosted the Métiers d’Art 2021/2022 collection, first presented in Paris on 7 December 2021 and restaged in Florence to mark the arrival in stores of these garments and accessories of exceptional craftsmanship.

The ethereal, dreamlike world the brand likes to conjure was recreated in the Florentine setting. Down the runway came satin chemisiers with jewel buttons, the now-iconic modern take on the tweed suit, micro-vests and maxi feather cardigans, pleated skirts, coats slung over the shoulders, twiggy jeans, and animal-print dresses. The embroideries of the Lesage and Montex ateliers, the feathers of Lemarié, the shoes of Massaro, the pleating of Lognon, the hats of Maison Michel, and the jewelry of Goossens enriched and adorned the whole collection, with its modern, metropolitan elegance.

More than 1,000 guests attended, among them the brand’s godmother and ambassador Penélope Cruz, who had earlier spoken during a masterclass led by Bruno Pavlovsky — president of Chanel — in the conference hall of the Florence Chamber of Commerce, before some 200 students from fashion schools and universities such as Bocconi, the Politecnico, and Polimoda. In the front row were Sofia Coppola, Caroline de Maigret, and Angèle, along with the young actresses Coco Rebecca Edogamhe, Linda Caridi, Fotini Peluso, Alma Noce, and Caterina De Angelis. Also present were DJ Peggy Gou, Wladimir Schall, and Amandine de la Richardière, the group Le Feste Antonacci, and the choreographer Dimitri Chamblas.

The evening closed with a DJ set and cocktails for the guests, whom Angèle entertained by singing live.

Why Florence was chosen

Half of Chanel’s manufacturing is in Italy, and half of the work seen on the show’s garments was produced by Italian artisans — Tuscan ones above all. In Tuscany the brand relies chiefly on three firms: the “Renato Corti” company of Claudio Girardi, which has its headquarters in Milan but 250 employees in Scandicci and of which Chanel owns 40%; a second, smaller plant, also in Scandicci; and a tannery in Santa Croce sull’Arno, plus a rich network of subcontractors across the district. The show thus traces a direct line between France and Italy, and above all with Florence, where the maison has secured exclusive access to the finest workshops and manufacturers.

Florence, moreover — as Penélope Cruz herself says in a video interview posted on Chanel’s channels — “is the epicenter of art; there is so much to see here, and I have the same feeling when I look at Chanel’s clothes. In the Métiers collection, the details of every button, of every piece, are astonishing.” That reveals the reasons behind the choice of the Tuscan capital as the setting for the traveling show. The event is therefore also a tribute to the artisans who, day after day, allow the fashion house to bring to life the chic imagery that defines it. Underscoring the importance of handwork and of the craft tradition that make the brand unique and of high quality — a tradition for which Italy is a vital hub — was one of the show’s central aims. The show also marked the return of Chanel’s runway presentations around the world, after years brought to a standstill by the pandemic.