‘It’s about the emotion’: why Chanel hired a chateau for a catwalk show with no guests

How important is a catwalk show to a fashion house? Important enough, in the case of Chanel, to take a team of 300 – including the actor Kristen Stewart, the photographer Juergen Teller and a small army of models – to put on a show in one of the most magnificent chateaux in France, despite an audience capped at zero.Chanel had hoped to welcome 200 guests to admire chic black-velvet coats, rich damask gowns with lace collars and double-ply cashmere embroidered with doubleC logos on a promenade across Chateau de Chenonceau’s 60-metre ballroom, which spans the River Cher. This proved impossible, but – in contrast to May, when a planned show in Capri was replaced by a digital-only presentation – Chanel chose to go ahead with the Métiers d’Art event on Tuesday, even though it was viewed only online.“The show is just the same as it would have been, but without an audience,” said Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s president of fashion. “We don’t see any other way to talk about the collections, other than having a show. We need to have impactful events to maintain a strong bond with our audience.”

Asked whether he expected the fashion industry to downsize from blockbuster shows after the pandemic, he said: “This is not about the fashion industry. This is about Chanel. It’s about our customers. It’s about the emotion that comes with a show.”Those who would have been on the guest list for the event, which showcased the craftsmanship of the 38 specialised ateliers supported by Chanel, instead received a coffee-table book of Teller’s photographs of the chateau and