Chanel’s latest collection is the beginning of a conversation with Dakar, Senegal, that is expected to continue for generations to come.

This season, Chanel’s “Métier d’Art” 2023 fashion show landed in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Chanel became the first European fashion house to host a show in sub-Saharan Africa. Star-studded guests attended the front row, such as Pharrell Williams, Naomi Campbell, artists Obree Daman and CKay.

An influential capital on the international art scene, the city of Dakar in Senegal demonstrates enormous creativity in the fields of fashion, film, dance, literature, contemporary art and music. This year, for the Métiers d’Art show, the brand paid tribute to craftsmanship – plume makers, glove makers, embroiderers, ornaments, shoemakers, folders – whose know-how has been preserved by the French house since 1985.

Chanel was part of a three-day cultural program in the Senegalese metropolis from December 5th-6th-7th 2022. “Beyond the parade, it is the event as a whole that I took into account. We have been thinking about it for three years. I wanted everything to run smoothly, over several days of deep and respectful exchanges,” says Virginie Viard. “The former Palais de Justice in Dakar, where not only the fashion show but also a large part of the artistic program associated with it takes place, is one of the most beautiful places where we have had the opportunity to present a collection. It has imposed itself as evidence, as a source of inspiration as well.”

For the show, guests filed slowly into the spacious former Palais de Justice to enjoy Viard’s latest creations. The event began with an incredible performance by dancers at the École des Sables, an international centre for the training and creation of traditional and contemporary African dances, before giving way to Chanel’s 1970s-inspired collection.

The reference to the pop-soul-funk-disco-punk decade was evident through Viard’s multicoloured tweed flared pants, pointed collars, and towering platform sandals.

The house codes were not lost either, as Viard carefully highlighted what Chanel is known for: the intricate beaded embroidery work on an oversized sweatshirt, the delicate lace dresses, or the camellia-embellished tops paired with shimmering black pants. In addition, the collection unfolded in long and narrow coats, asymmetrical dresses, platform shoes, and quilted sweatshirts, available in various colours. Tweeds, raw denim, and airy fabrics. This fashion show was enhanced by a wealth of plant motifs, geometric lines and shapes, camellia embroidery, intertwined pearls, bejewelled buttons or dazzling sequins and shiny tassels, as well as coated lace, pleated, in black or white.

While tweed made its usual appearance, especially in the collection’s array of beautifully cut, languid flared pants, the use of lace and crochet felt like a breath of fresh air. They had a hippie style, like over jeans, but were incredibly dramatic in full black with lots of Chanel necklaces layered underneath.

“The collections are all very good, but I need to be moved. It has to be alive, it has to connect with other disciplines,” said Viard, who invited many local creatives to the show. “Real dialogues, nurtured in the long term, it is this human and warm dimension that motivates my work and that I try to transcribe again. I put all my soul into it. Those wonderful encounters from which artistic adventures like this one are born, that’s what moves me.”

During the three years of processing and preparing this collection, the program offered a meaningful dialogue between the French Maison and the Senegalese capital that reflected the French colonization of Senegal in the mid-17th century. Similarly, artistic director Virginie Viard’s collection of 62 looks represented a sartorial union of Dakar and Paris, highlighting savoir-faire creations from Chanel’s 11 Maisons d’art located between the 19M premises, between Paris and the Aubervilliers gate, and Chanel’s Creation.

To bring its vision of the 2023 Métiers d’art show to life, Chanel worked with Senegalese photographer Malick Bodian to create the collection’s lookbook. Moreover, filmmaker Ladj Ly created a series of short documentary films about the event alongside students from the Kourtrajmé school in Montfermeiland.

The collection ended in a long-term extension of the 2023 Métiers d’art show between Chanel and Dakar. In January 2023, Chanel artisans from 19M will come to Dakar for several months with the support of IFAN (Institut fondamental d’Afrique Noire) to continue the intercultural dialogue in fashion and keep alive the tradition of savoir-faire.

Take a closer look at Chanel Métiers d’Art Pre-Fall 2022/23 Collection