Chanel to host major Metiers D’art fashion show in Manchester in a first for the city

Chanel has chosen Manchester as the location for one of its fashion show events of the year – the first time a heritage fashion house has come to Manchester.

Taking place on Thursday, December 7, the show will premiere the Metiers D’art collection, a celebration of the brand’s specialist and artisan partners, including master jewellers, embroiderers, shoemakers, milliners and more.

Previous Metiers D’art shows have taken place in global fashion centres such as Tokyo and New York. The set design and venue are also important aspects of the event, making it an opulent and grand affair. In Shanghai, it was held on a pontoon in the Huangpu River. In Paris, models walked amid giant banquet tables. In Dallas, it took place in a rodeo-themed arena.

Last year, it was held at the former Palais de Justice in the Senegalese capital Dakar, marking the first time a luxury brand has ever shown in Sub-Saharan Africa. The guest list included Naomi Campbell, Pharrel and Princess Caroline of Monaco.

With that in mind, holding such a prestigious event in Manchester may seem unusual, but locations are chosen each year based on their links to art, culture and fashion – which Manchester has in abundance.

Once dubbed Cottonopolis, Manchester was a leader in the textile industry following the Industrial Revolution. A century later, it became the leader of a different revolution – the Britpop era, and all the music, art and fashion trends that came with it.

There is no word yet on which venue will be chosen, although there has been some speculation online that Factory International’s Aviva Studios is in the running, as well as Mayfield Depot, which hosted the launch of Haider Ackermann collaboration with Fila last year.