Chanel at Shanghai – Coco’s love of Chinoiserie

It is said that Mademoiselle Coco had always a love for China and the “chinoiserie”, and allegedly the design of her bags were inspired by Chinese quilting. In her time Coco Chanel dreamed of going to Shanghai but never did. In a new era, while China is opening its doors to Fashion hedonism, Chanel opened their most refined boutique in Shanghai on Nov. 25th, probably realizing a life-time achievement. And this event would have been unnoticed without a fantastic pre-fall fashion show where guests were gathered at a riverfront promenade along the Huangpu River. First thing you notice when you watch the runway show is the setting. The spectacular view of the Shanghai’s skylines and glittering towers sets you right away in the futuristic mood and agitated atmosphere of Shanghai. Then the show must go on!

The collection is greatly inspired by Chinese sartorial history and kitsch taste, with flashback between the past dynasties, Mao and a projection onto the future of Chinese’s fashion. Abbey Lee opens the show with a fabulous quilted cocktail dress with Chinese embroideries and 3-dimensional patterns.

Abbey Lee

I like how they transformed the famous Chanel suit with Chinese embroideries and accessories, the tweed suits and black leather leggings with surface embellishments were really original. Overall I love how they mastered the volumes and Chinese fashion with obviously Chanel’s elegance. The accessories were just amazing, have a look at one of their video diary that presents some of their accessories. The snake broche may look ridiculous, but Chinese will eat this up! I really enjoyed the collection and some of its Chinese kitschyness, Chanel’s take on the Chinese market at Shangai was an absolutly perfect act, but don’t expect to see anything revolutionary if you are a purist.

View the entire collection.

Click to watch the fashion show video