Métiers d’art 2022/23 CHANEL – DAKAR – A documentary series by Ladj Ly and Kourtrajmé
Date: Tuesday 6 December 2022
Place: Palais de Justice of Dakar – Senegal
With the Courtesy of the CHANEL Couture House
Celebrity Attendance
Chanel invited 800 people, including the daring Pharrell Williams, Naomi Campbell and Tobe Nwigwe, for the French fashion house’s first ever show in Africa.
The Métiers d’Art Chanel fashion show travels once again this year: destination Dakar in Senegal. It is once again an opportunity for the house to pay tribute to the unique know-how of its craftsmen.
For this occasion, Virginie Viard asked Ladj Ly of the Kourtrajmé collective to produce a series of documentaries on the backstage of this eventful fashion show.
This is the story of a rise to the top. Virginie Viard, Karl Lagerfeld’s right-hand woman and director of the Chanel creative studio, officially became Chanel’s artistic director on 19 February 2019.
Her appointment was made public by the house immediately after the announcement of the Kaiser’s death. But who is the lucky one to head the most famous French fashion house?
In February 2019, when the man known as the Kaiser died of prostate cancer, she became artistic director of Chanel.
A succession that came as no surprise to anyone, as it had been planned for a long time. According to the official press release of the house, co-owner Alain Wertheimer entrusted her « with the creation of the collections, in order to keep the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld alive ».
This is the first time that a woman has taken over the management of the house since the death of its creator, Gabrielle Chanel, in 1971.
Very discreet, Virginie Viard presented her first show the same year at the Grand Palais in Paris. The transition was a smooth one, as the new artistic director has been offering collections full of references to Karl Lagerfeld and the house’s codes.
Her style: to bring Chanel’s classics up to date. Mission accomplished.
LADJ LY
Ladj Ly, the director of the film Les Misérables, released in 2019, and member of the Kourtrajmé collective of directors, has been commissioned by Virginie Viard, the artistic director of the Rue Cambon fashion house, to produce a series of 4 documentaries chronicling the behind-the-scenes of this eventful fashion show. and Sierra Leone–born editor Ib Kamara to lens the campaign, which stars models Alaato Jazyper and Loli Bahia.
Kourtrajmé film
Directed by students from the Kourtrajmé film schools founded by Ladj Ly in Dakar and Montfermeil, this final episode of a four-part series documents the artistic synergies surrounding the Métiers d’art 2022/23 CHANEL – DAKAR fashion show: Literary rendezvous with writer Marie NDiaye and actress Rokhaya Niang, collaboration between dancer and choreographer Dimitri Chamblas and the École des Sables founded by Germaine Acogny, performances by rapper NIX, singers Obree Daman and CKay, and a discussion between Pharrell Williams and students from Dakar.
The credits for this episode include a photograph by Malick Bodian – stylized headdresses by Jenke Ahmed Tailly.
Germaine Acogny’s Ecole des Sables
On the screen we see dancers from Germaine Acogny’s Ecole des Sables, in full rehearsal with choreographer and friend of the House, Dimitri Chamblas, students from the Kourtrajmé school in Dakar, focus on details of small hands on the pieces of the collection and moments of Virginie Viard in Dakar.
CHANEL WEBSITE
See more at https://www.chanel.com/-YT-RTW_MDA23
2022/23 Métiers d’art CHANEL – Dakar Show – A Document
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