Chanel celebrates African culture and craftsmanship at its first event on the continent.
On December 6th, Chanel held a festival at the former Palais de Justice in Dakar, Africa, which included the Métiers d’Art runway show. The house’s first time holding an event on the continent, the three-day festival was designed to shed a spotlight on the country’s talents in art, dance, music, and literature. Chanel’s careful steps to ensure the festival was a unified celebration of the continent’s fashion and culture, not a one-off attempt to correct past issues of cultural appropriation, was evident through the attention to detail, guests, and the clothing itself.
In the festival’s press release, Bruno Pavlovsky, the President of Chanel’s Fashion Activities, said, “without all the [African] artisans and ateliers that contribute to our development, we cannot do what we do. A few years ago, we decided that the best way to promote these savoir-faire was to dedicate a collection to them.”
Senegal native and rapper Nix was the festival’s musical guest. He reflected on the local creative landscape that he was happy to share with the House via Chanel’s Instagram account. “We have a culture that is very open to the world, we have been influenced by many things, which I see as a richness, and this generates an overflowing creativity today,” he commented.
The runway show was inspired by “the pop-soul-funk-disco-punk decade” of the 1970s, a time, according to the press release, that is near and dear to the heart of Chanel’s Creative Director Virginie Viard. The vibrant color pallet, ornate beading, and strategic layering were a few standout elements of the ensembles. Chanel was diligent in including African artists in the creation of the runway show: half of the hair and makeup teams were from local communities, while of the 62 models in the show, 19 were African, and 12 of those Senegalese. Meanwhile, 500 of the show’s audience of 850 hailed from around Africa.
Other guests included artists who collaborated with Viard on the festival, including choreographer and dancer Dimitri Chamblas, Senegalese dancer founder of the dance school École des Sables, Germaine Acogny, and Senegalese architect Mamy Tall.
Putting education at the forefront, Chanel organized a “Rendez-vous littéraire” hosted by literary historian Fanny Arama and Chanel Ambassador Charlotte Casiraghi, who conceived the event alongside Viard. The discussion will be available for public consumption on January 17, 2023, on all of Chanel’s social media and podcast platforms.
Chanel also hosted a Q&A session attended by 350 people, most of whom were students from fashion, art, design, and management schools in Dakar and Senegal. This was in an effort to inspire future leaders in fashion and create an impact in Africa beyond the three-day event.
Several critics have applauded Chanel for their efforts in Dakar and their positive impact on the African continent. Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director for the New York Times, remarked that the show was not merely an attempt at engaging a new market but actually spotlighting Dakar’s artistic talents, “less of an exotic shortcut for new inspiration, in other words, than a celebration of equals.”
Despite the future of fashion becoming heavily reliant on technological advancements, Chanel is still focused on preserving traditional craftsmanship from all over the world. “If we want to continue to exist in twenty years, young people must be interested in hand craftsmanship. And the intersection of these artists from all over the world, of all generations, and of these unique skills based around weaving and embroidery, will lead to exceptional exhibitions and installations,” commented Pavlovsky.
Images courtesy of Chanel. (Homepage image from the show, inside image Mamy Tall and Nix.)
