Each year, Chanel honors its artisans with a runway presentation dedicated to their intricate work, including embroidery, millinery, paruriers, pleaters and shoe craftsmanship.
For the French house’s 2021/2022 outing, the show was staged in the newly constructed new 19M complex in Paris, which brings all 11 of its skilled specialists under one roof.
The consummate makers came together to present Chanel’s Métiers d’Art, a fantastical show that spotlights their collaborative efforts with a highly decorated collection.
For the hair and makeup leads – Damien Boissinot and Tom Pecheux, respectively – it’s a considerable task to conceptualise a beauty look that both honors and befits the theatrical mise-en-scène of the storied show.
Last year the team cranked up the volume post-pandemic with kinked-out hair and Mod-style Sixties’ eyeshadow, but this year saw a return to polished form, with offhand hair bows and graphic liner – albeit with a refreshingly low-fi air.
Boissinot left models’ hair gently styled but uncontrived, working with the natural texture of each to create lift and movement via waves and braids. But the relaxed hair looks were accompanied by perhaps the most understated of hair accoutrements, the humble hair bow.
A grosgrain black ribbon, which is synonymous with Chanel’s house codes, was fixed haphazardly to hidden braids at the side of models’ heads, with the large loops and lengths of the bow falling loosely about the face.
The makeup featured similar elements of triviality, characterized by a fresh base – applied sparingly to appear bare – with softly defined yet muted lips and neatly groomed brows.
This approach allowed the gaze to focus on the eyes, which channeled the dramatic spirit of the show with exaggerated black liner and a wash of sunset shadow.
Peachy tones blazed through the crease, with a subtle hint of bronze shimmer providing the backdrop to the sharp, sculptural cat-eye liner.
Spanning from the inner corner of the eyes to the tail of the brows, the liner stretched over both the upper and lower lids before swooping out and up into a thick wing, for a true rendition of Parisian elegance at its most charismatic.
Watch the full Chanel Métiers d’Art 2021/2022 runway below:
