The French fashion house made its first steps in Sub-Saharan Africa with its recent runway show in Senegal’s capital.
Started 21 years ago, Chanel’s Métiers d’Art runway celebrates the artisans that make the luxury houses’ collections possible. This year’s Métiers d’Art runway showcase happened in Dakar, the vibrant capital of Senegal. This can be considered a bold choice since no other French luxury house has ever done a runway showcase in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The show was kicked off with performances by Senegalese singer Obree Daman and local dancers from the École des Sables.
“Dakar is an influential artistic capital on the international scene, particularly in areas held dear to the house, such as fashion, film, dance, music, literature and contemporary art,” Chanel told PopSugar. “More than just a show, this event will be part of a three-day cultural program accompanied by concrete action in terms of creative dialogue, sustainable development and the transmission of savoir-faire.”
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The collection takes inspiration from the 1970’s and features pieces with bright colors, sequins and textured tweed designs. Many celebrity guests were in attendance at the show, including Naomi Campbell, Pharrell and Whitney Peak. Though the runway show was most met with positive reception there was some criticism due to the fact that Sengal was a former colony of France.
“It’s not lost on them that this was once a French colony,” Pharrell told Surface Magazine. “To come there and do the exact opposite of colonization was interesting. Because it’s not just coming there to do a show. It’s actually providing so many partnerships. That’s unprecedented.”
Chanel, is set to launch a program early next year that will focus on collaborating with local embroiderers and artisans in Sengal for an exhibition that will be hosted in Paris.