Chanel, known for its luxurious creations, has surprised the fashion world with a new high jewellery collection inspired by sport. This unexpected twist comes from the brand famous for its haute couture, elegant perfumes, cosmetics, and fine jewellery.
Patrice Leguéreau, the director of Chanel’s fine jewellery creation studio, explained that the sporty style of Chanel is deeply rooted in the brand’s history. Gabrielle Chanel, the iconic founder, revolutionized women’s fashion in the 1920s by introducing comfortable, activewear-friendly designs, moving away from the tight, restrictive clothing of the era.
Gabrielle Chanel even created a Sport atelier within her haute couture house as early as 1921. This focus on freedom of movement and harmony with the body is the essence of the new high jewellery collection.
The Haute Joaillerie Sport Collection
The Haute Joaillerie Sport collection marks a significant evolution in Chanel’s jewellery design. Previous collections focused on visual motifs and themes from the house’s heritage, like tweed fabric or the lion symbol of Gabrielle Chanel’s star sign. The new collection, however, draws inspiration from the concept of movement.
The Sport collection features streamlined forms that emphasize motion. High jewellery is not just about adornments; it’s about creating pieces that move fluidly with the body. The collection consists of 80 designs, divided into six thematic chapters, yet interwoven with a dynamic, transversal quality.
Key Features and Innovations
One standout feature is the range of cocktail rings with a curved bombé form, originating from the Graphic Line chapter. These rings showcase vibrant and varied use of color, incorporating excellent colored gemstones like emeralds, sapphires, and spinels. Some rings have center stones mounted on movable settings, revealing diamond-set undersides when swiveled.
Chanel also uses lacquer and anodized aluminum to enhance the colors. Some rings have lacquered prongs matching the gemstones, while others use black onyx for contrast. The collection also features colored anodized aluminum, a challenging material to work with at such a fine scale, used to set gems like emeralds.
Exceptional Gems and Pieces
The collection includes a series of jewels with Kashmir sapphires, sourced and assembled over five years. The centerpiece is a necklace with a 10.15-carat sapphire, designed with a chevron motif that expands toward the front, cascading into fancy-cut diamonds framed by baguette-cut rubies.
For the first time, Chanel has designed a clasp in the shape of the 2.55 bag’s turn lock, fully gem-set and functioning like the bag’s clasp.
Technical Innovations
Chanel’s Sport collection pushes the boundaries of jewellery-making. Inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s designs that empowered women, the collection includes the Sporty 5 theme, transforming the house’s emblematic number into a karabiner shape. These functional clasps make it easy to wear or remove a necklace.
Another innovation is the use of lightweight carbon fiber in chunky cuffs, echoing Gabrielle Chanel’s personal style. These cuffs feature a deconstructed print of the Chanel logo and come as an interchangeable set, with one set fully diamond-set and the other made of dark grey carbon fiber.
New Developments in Chain Design
Chanel has also introduced a new tube chain called a “sport cord,” a supple, sinuous chain punctuated by discs of gold or ceramic, reminiscent of drawstring cords. The Gold Slider theme features necklaces with a transformable button-shaped mechanism that allows the chain to slide and adjust the necklace’s length while being worn.
Conclusion
Chanel’s new Sport collection blends technical innovation with the brand’s historic emphasis on elegance and freedom of movement. This dynamic collection continues to redefine high jewellery, making it more ergonomic, freeing, and aligned with the active lifestyle Gabrielle Chanel envisioned for women.