Viriginie Viard, Chanel’s artistic director, turned to the house’s newest artisan home to present her latest MetiersD’arts collection. The building which is called 19M started housing maisons and specialist since March and is now officially introduced to the public by the very creations of the specialists. The Metiers D’arts collections were introduced to Chanel’s customer as a way to celebrate craftsmanship and show off the art of many artisan houses that the French brand owns. Now these houses are all gathered together in 19M and create the Silicon Valley of French Fashion.
Rudy Ricciotti took hold of the task of designing 19M and added this piece of art to his memorable resume which holds the likes of Mucem museum and the Musée Jean Cocteau as well. The structure complete with its eco-friendly environment sprawls over 25,000 meters and houses almost 600 artisans. Ricciotti has envisioned an open and modular space for this building to give as much space as an artisan maison needs, but also provide an environment of flowing creativity and shared workspace. Moreover, the structure has a flexible relationship with sunlight and while it provides the maximum natural light, it protects the artisans and their works from the harsh sunrays of noon.
19M’s façade is imagined in the shape of vertical textile weft and showcases the hours of hard work done in its workshops. Lasage, Lemarié, and Goossens are among the many artisan maisons relocated to this building; the maisons that are owned by Chanel but also commission work to rival brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton. Since being delegated as the creative director of Chanel, Viard has put focus on the arts and crafts going on behind the French house’s collections and with the support of Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s fashion president, she has brought the historic French crafts to the modern dialogue
written by Toranj Nasiri.
Fashionecture 