The next Chanel Métiers d'Art show will be in Manchester

This will be the brand’s first show in England since Karl Lagerfeld’s Amy Winehouse-inspired “Paris-London” collection in December 2009.

Factory International opened last month, the UK’s largest public investment in a cultural project since the Tate Modern in the heart of Manchester. The iconic arts center has sparked a northern renaissance that has been gradually gaining momentum in recent years. In November, Haider Ackermann debuted his collaboration with Fila at the Mayfield Depot and now Chanel has just announced that its next Métiers d’Art will take place in Manchester on December 7th.

Manchester is the heart of Britpop and the rave movement that once grew out of the Haçienda. It was also the center of the cotton industry, which is certainly something Chanel will refer to, as her Métiers d’Art collections are an excuse to showcase local and specialist crafts. Last season, the brand took us with its collection to the Palais de Justice in Senegal, where creative director Virginie Viard collaborated with the existing Dakar art scene.

“Every year since 2002, Chanel has been the only house to create a collection dedicated to celebrating the savoir-faire of the Métiers d’Art and its central importance to fashion, today and tomorrow,” Chanel noted. “Presented in cities and places that inspire the house, from Tokyo to New York to Dakar last year, this collection testifies to Chanel’s historic commitment to this exceptional artisan heritage and its influence around the world,” the house explained.

Since its creation two decades ago, Métiers d’Art has remained a unique collection that combines elements of Haute Couture, luxury ready-to-wear and refined craftsmanship. Although the house has not revealed the reason for its new location, it is well known that the founder of the brand, Coco Chanel, was a fervent admirer of all things English. She was the lover of the Duke of Westminster for over a decade and often hunted and fished at his gigantic Scottish estate and at Easton Hall.