Gabrielle Chanel, China and the Coromandels

Gabrielle Chanel passed away at the Ritz in Paris in 1971, before ever setting foot in Hangzhou, or likely in China at all. Yet, throughout history, the house of Chanel and the Middle Kingdom seem intimately linked, as if a delicate silk thread were sewn from Rue Cambon to the shores of the West Lake. This connection was at the heart of Chanel's latest Métiers d’Art collection, presented in Hangzhou in early December, with its main muse being the coromandels—the mythical Chinese screens that Gabrielle Chanel collected and cherished. Legend has it that Gabrielle Chanel owned no fewer than 32 of these delicate screens, whose craftsmanship remains a well-guarded secret.

Indeed, Coromandel screens are a historical element of Chinese culture, whose creation process cannot be disclosed. The knowledge is only passed down orally, involving covering the screens with a layer of lacquer thick enough to be engraved without exposing the wood beneath. Gabrielle Chanel's passion for these screens developed in her adulthood, when she first saw a coromandel at a merchant's shop, sparking such an emotion in her that she allegedly "fainted with joy." This growing interest in antique objects was further nurtured alongside her partner Arthur Boy Capel, who introduced her to sacred, mythological, and esoteric texts, filling her library with works like Art Treasures of Japan and China, written by Hayashi Tadamasa, one of the most renowned Japanese art dealers of the 19th century. Of her collection of around thirty screens, eight are located on the second floor of 31 Rue Cambon, in the designer's apartment. One of them, measuring 2.76 meters in height and 5 meters in width, depicts Hangzhou Lake, with its mountains, village in the background, and boats floating peacefully.

Legend has it that the lake was born from a pearl carved out of jade by a dragon and a phoenix that fell from the heavens and today represents a prized place of wisdom reserved for the luckiest. But for Chanel, in addition to constituting a small piece of its history, it also represents a highly significant point of sale. The Métiers d’Art collection presented on December 3rd was the second to travel to China to be unveiled to the world. The first dates back to 2009, when Karl Lagerfeld was still at the helm of Chanel and its legendary shows. The choice of location was not the only nod to Chanel's love for China and its coromandels. From the floral motifs typical of the screens, the colors used—such as jade green, pink, and sky blue evoking the sheen of their lacquer—to black and darker tones referring to the wood of the panels, the entire show was an ode to Gabrielle Chanel and her beloved Coromandels.