Two proudly distinct cultures collided on Thursday as Chanel’s highest-spending international customers came face to face with The Mancunian.
It started on Wednesday with guests arriving for a whirlwind tour of Manchester’s cultural and historical landmarks, and ended with the Chanel Métiers d’Art show on Thursday night.
Cue the mutual curiosity, curiosity, and some degree of humor of all parties. Chanel’s high-net-worth fans are accustomed to flying at altitudes of 35,000 feet on private jets for shows in Miami, St Tropez or Dubai. Finding themselves in the “First” Class Lounge at Euston Station waiting for an overcrowded and delayed train to Manchester Piccadilly was a whole new level of exotica.
Top-spending, head-to-toe Chanel shoppers often have brains that can’t calculate low-key words. Huge quilted bags emblazoned with the famous CCs and furry Chanel moon boots raced past the coffee-stained stalls towards these strange contraptions called ticket barriers.
Although Manchester isn’t short on cash thanks to its football clubs, numerous memes have played on the city’s gritty side: “Will Chanel wine and dine billionaires at Greggs?”, “Will Kim Kardashian sing karaoke at The Millstone?” (A traditional pub in Manchester’s north quadrant.) And “How can we spoil the show?”
Here are the answers: Kim Kardashian is not a Chanel ambassador so far. Greggs is also not on the official menu, although some in the American press have been joking about visiting Manchester’s flagship M&S, the largest in the world. The match between Man U and Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday was another highlight.
French journalists, who were among the approximately 160 guests hosted by Chanel at the match, repeatedly asked questions after a section of the crowd shouted “You bitch” during the match. ref.
Guests found complimentary boxes of PG Tips and Man U strips with No. 5 on the back (after a specific perfume) in their hotel rooms, nestled among the usual Chanel toiletries gifted by the brand.
By the way, if you could reach one of the flats above the shops and cafes on Thomas Street, you would have a bird’s eye view of the podium. Chanel took over the entire street, covering it with a glass awning and bringing her own food to some of the food stores.
“Working with Chanel on this was amazing,” says Jobe Ferguson, co-founder of bougie Bay Horse Tavern, where Hugh Grant met with Kristen Stewart, Sofia Coppola and Alexa Chung before the show started. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” grinned Ferguson.
Manchester, along with its glorious rain (inevitably producing a mass umbrella shortage), is abuzz with black limousines carrying bemused-looking groups of Americans and Southeast Asians from one newly refurbished Victorian warehouse to the next as the local tour. the guides entertained them with Vimto while regaling them with stories about Cottonopolis (as Manchester was known at the height of the textile industry) and its legendary musical heritage.
These days, when brands flock to foreign cities to organize events, they feel honored to contribute not only to the local economy but also to culture. Chanel sponsored a free (booked) exhibition: ManchesterModern: Past Future and Present.
The takeover of Manchester/Chanel took eight months in planning in close collaboration with Manchester council and various Mancunian celebrities including Jeanette Winterson, poet John Cooper Clarke and graphic designer and co-founder of Manchester’s Factory Records Peter Saville. He designed many album covers for himself.
“I think the first person we called was Mayor Andy Burnham,” says Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s head of fashion. Burnham was unable to perform the show herself due to a business trip to Japan, but many other officials were able to attend.
A promotional video directed by Sofia Coppola on the brand’s social media accounts celebrates the city’s suffrage, music, football and social justice movements, further polishing the city’s reputation.
Anyone who thought Manchester would be a cheap rendezvous for Chanel was underestimating the scope of the brand’s vision. While the temporary roof was built, shop windows remodeled with Chanel-related products and rehearsals carried out, some shops on Thomas Street are said to have been paid £40 to £50,000 each to make up for lost profits. Take into account 69 models (17 British, including Mancunian Karen Elson) – this will cost millions.
Staging the show in Manchester isn’t as left field as it might seem. During her 10-year relationship with the Duke of Westminster in the 1920s, Coco Chanel spent a fair amount of time at Eaton Hall in Cheshire and frequently traveled the 35 miles to Manchester to do business with the then-thriving cotton and velvet mills.
But no performance venue is chosen solely for nostalgia or romance. The tiny Chanel boutique in Manchester’s Selfridges is said to be one of the busiest per square meter in the world. An independent Chanel shoe boutique (priced from around £800 per pair) is planned to open here next year.
As you read this, images are going global and the Chanel Manchester collection will soon be available in 50 countries. Unfortunately there is no more Manchester fabric to use; but in this collection there are many colorful short skirt suits made of tweed from Carlisle and cashmere woven with the word Manchester from Hawico. Some models had short, boyish hair and hats with flaps over the ears, like New Order’s Ian Curtis. These were clothes made for the cold, but most wore plain Mary Janes with bare legs.
It’s truly a leveling exercise. But is it for Chanel or for the Mancunians, does anyone want to say that?
More than the show…
