Chanel Stuns Audience with their Pre-Fall Collection in Senegal

Dec 12

The fashion house Chanel just hosted their Métiers d’Art fashion show in Dakar, Senegal. They are the first European house to host a fashion show in sub saharan Africa and hopefully won’t be the last. This fashion show merged various aspects of African cultures in their show and through their garments. For instance, Nigerian R&B singer Obree Daman and his choir performed at the show along with dancers from the Écoles des Sables, a Senegalese international dance school. Singer Pharrel Williams who attended the show said, “There’s a serendipity in it being a French maison, and coming back to a place that was once colonized by the French, with a sense of equity… it’s a super-beautiful exercise in humanity.”

With over 800 guests at the show and Sault music playing, Chanel once again proved that they are the best when it comes to tweed, suiting and tailoring. Creative director Virginie Viard designed a collection that keeps the classic aspects of Chanel but adds aspects of different cultures and colors. Models wore garments that were covered with colors from the senegalese flag. There were aspects in the garments from the Congolese Sapeur subculture, a male subculture that live by a strictly planned and elegant dress code in order to make a statement. The garments were also made with beading and patterns from African cultures. Additionally, some garments had more classic patterns like tweed and stripes while others had leopard, lace and denim. Some even had fringe and ruffled accents.

This collection was happy, carefree and casual. Viard was not afraid to add color and fun prints onto her garments and through styling. Many of the outfits can be worn at the beach or for a summer day out. The garments managed to give off these moods while still having classic put together Chanel suiting and tailoring. The collection and show took three years to plan and produce. They wanted the collection to be the perfect fusion of Chanel and local Senegal talents while still respecting their culture. About the collection, Viard said, “Going beyond the runway show, it’s the event as a whole that I took into account, '' she said. “We’ve been thinking about it for three years. I wanted it to happen gently, over several days of deep, respectful dialoguing.” Looking at the show, it was well worth the wait and planning.

Here are some looks from the show: