Chanel Métiers d’Art 2018/19 at the Met

The prestigious Chanel Métiers d’Art 2018/19 collection debuted in NYC for the first time again in 13 years. Karl Lagerfeld presented this breaktaking Egyptian royalty themed collection at the New York Metropolitan Museum with the Temple of Dendur rising in the background.

Chanel has a long association with New York, a city that Coco Chanel first visited in 1931. This show will mark the third time Chanel has ever shown in Manhattan after the brand’s boutique opening on 57th Street in 2005 and then its Cruise Collection show in Grand Central Terminal in 2006.

The Métiers d’Art collection is a gateway for Lagerfeld to exalt specialty couture ateliers of his fondest travel destinations. In the past, he has exhibited collections with influence from Edinburgh, Salzburg, Rome, and Dallas where the influences and allure of the city are clearly portrayed.

This year, Lagerfeld has been inspired by the lore of Memphis, the ancient city of Egypt. He cleverly transcribed classic Chanel influences to Egyptian by turning hieroglyphs to graffiti, camellias to lotus flowers, with intricate plisse soleil (translated “sun-pleated”) skirts adorned with pearls to re-create the look of a modern dessert goddess. As he once stated, “nothing is more modern than antiquity,” Lagerfeld’s exploration of the past inevitably yields fertile ideas for his collection.

The afterparty that followed the show was equally elaborate. Held in Central Park, a retro-styled burger bar was erected serving a condensed menu of burgers, truffled fries, and an assortment of tiny desserts!