Snapshots from Venice
The City of Bridges serves as inspiration for Chanel’s latest high jewellery collection
The modus operandi of Chanel’s high jewellery department has typically been to dig into its archives, and derive inspiration from a certain aspect of founder Gabrielle Chanel’s life and prolific portfolio. It doesn’t veer too far from this ethos for its latest collection, Escale à Venise, but there is a marked difference this time: it was Gabrielle’s love for the city that instructed the genesis of the collection, but the designs and aesthetics are rooted firmly in the now.
Patrice Leguéreau, the director of Chanel’s Jewellery Creation Studio, reveals that he spent some time in the City of Bridges to observe its daily vagaries—albeit through the lens of a 21st-century Gabrielle Chanel. He says, “In 2018, when we started thinking about this theme, we really wanted to show the Venice of the 21st century. So, I went there with my sketchbook. I wanted to get lost there, to feel the energy of this unique place. I came back with extremely colourful drawings, snapshots of everyday Venetian life, which inspired me to create the gouache paintings for this new story.
“I would say that Escale à Venise is a contemporary vision that Gabrielle Chanel might have had of this city that she discovered in 1920, after the accidental death of her great love, Boy Capel. She let herself get carried away by the city of canals, by its Byzantine architecture, its baroque atmosphere. The Serenissima allowed her to be reborn. Indeed, Edmonde Charlesroux explains in L’irrégulière: Ou Mon Itineraire Chanel that ‘Between the museum and life, her choice was quickly made: she chose life.’”
The result is a series of 70 jewels, all slotted neatly within four chapters: La Sérénissime, Gran Canale, Isole della Laguna and Spirito di Venezia. It’s a collection that delights and surprises at every turn, and duly epitomises the evolution of Chanel’s high jewellery aspirations. It’s one of the younger high jewellery workshops on Place Vendôme, situated in the hallowed company of established ateliers such as Cartier, Chaumet, and Van Cleef & Arpels. However, in recent years, it’s truly held its own and carved a reputable name for itself. For one, the atelier proudly reveres its fashion roots, and routinely derives codes and inspiration from its couture, accessories and ready-to-wear departments. In doing so, it has crafted a unique design language that has become a signature for the maison—no mean feat for a department that is less than two decades old.
It also continually pushes the boundaries of craftsmanship and explores techniques that allow it to fully convey its design codes, as seen in the Venetian-inspired collection. It’s not the first time that Chanel has
drawn inspiration from Venice—the 2013 Sous le Signe du lion featured the city’s ubiquitous emblem, the lion, which was also Gabrielle’s astrological sign. For this collection, Leguéreau and his team saw the beautiful in the mundane, from the wooden poles that moor the gondolas, to the gelati sold on the street corner.
Says Leguéreau, “This stopover is a stroll along the canals, down the alleys lined with secret palazzi, where the soul of the place is hidden. I wanted the city to be immediately identifiable. It was vital that each piece of jewellery should refer to one or more Venetian elements, that the link should be immediate. Gabrielle Chanel only appears implicitly.”
The Eblouissante set echoes this notion of subtlety. The geometric patterns recall the pink and white marble that dot the gothic renaissance facade of Doge’s Palace. But if you look closer, another inspiration reveals itself: Chanel’s signature quilted fabric that can be seen on its ready-to-wear, haute couture and accessories. A mixture of baguette- and brilliant-cut pink and white diamonds, as well as pink spinels, are creatively set within the rose gold and platinum structures to echo the mosaic facade of these Venetian landmarks. As Leguéreau puts it, “While the graphic signature of Chanel is clearly present, this collection, with its rich patterns, colours and details, is inspired by the cultural heritage unique to the city of Venice.”
He adds that the “diamond ornamentations” on many of the suites also pay tribute to the Venetian mirrors in Gabrielle’s
Escale à Venise is a collection that delights and surprises at every turn, and duly epitomises the evolution of Chanel’s high jewellery aspirations
apartment on rue Cambon, a location that continues to prove to be a treasure trove of inspiration for the team.
The collection is also marked by an infusion of colour. Says Leguéreau, “Colour serves as a guiding principle. [For example], the blue and white stripes of the Venetian palines, which appear in lapis lazuli and diamonds on the multi-strand necklaces, and correspond with the striped sailor top in Chanel’s world.”
He adds, “The richness and abundance of the stones used are directly linked to Byzantine Venice, to that sophisticated Orient that has so inspired Chanel. We focused on the diversity of materials and colours by combining ornamental gemstones like lapis lazuli, carnelian, fire opal and nephrite jade with precious stones like the ruby, sapphire, emerald and spinel.”
A highlight is the Constellation necklace, which features a series of irregularly-cut lapis lazuli, strung together in white and yellow gold, and studded with diamonds and yellow sapphires— it’s a beautiful interpretation of a clear night in Venice, with constellations of stars set against the iridescent sparkle of the lapis. It’s an unexpected, yet whimsical interpretation of the theme, but one that delineates Chanel’s high jewellery from the rest.