Wings, comets and lions: Inside Chanel’s new high jewellery collection reveal in Kyoto
The house of Chanel articulated the best of high jewellery in its new collection featuring the motifs of the comet, the wings and the lion.
Embrace Your Destiny necklace, Wings of Chanel necklace and Dreams Come True necklace: The three star pieces of Chanel's Reach For The Stars high jewellery collection. (Photos: Chanel; Art: Chern Ling)
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"Winging it" took on new meaning for me when I came face to face with Reach For The Stars, Chanel’s newest high jewellery collection unveiled at the Meiji Kotokan Hall of the Kyoto National Museum in Japan.
Stunning as the sizeable 109-piece collection imagined from three key elements – the comet, the wings and the lion – was, I found myself particularly drawn to the newly introduced wings motif.
THE WINGS
And just like that, Chanel "grew" wings. Not just any old wings though but mythical looking ones that look like they leapt right out of a fantastical Greek legend. To my mind, the wing-inspired repertoire is comparable to a beautiful picture book of fabled tales.
To inject life into the collection, Leguereau created jewellery pieces “illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond” that perfectly captures “the magical moment between day and night when high jewellery sparkles on the skin”.
And just like that, Chanel "grew" wings. Not just any old wings though but mythical looking ones that look like they leapt right out of a fantastical Greek legend. To my mind, the wing-inspired repertoire is comparable to a beautiful picture book of fabled tales.
To inject life into the collection, Leguereau created jewellery pieces “illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond” that perfectly captures “the magical moment between day and night when high jewellery sparkles on the skin”.
Also, same but different is the lion motif. “Patrice used to interpret [the lion] with sculptural lines that is very powerful but this time, it’s very airy, celestial and it also has wings. This is a new interpretation,” shared Saintville.
The lion motif was first found on the buttons of Madame Chanel’s tweed jacket – she believed that they would watch over her. The lion has since gone on to inspire everything from perfumes, fine jewellery and even high jewellery.
"Padparadscha means lotus flower in the rising sun." – Dorothee Saintville
The Embrace Your Destiny necklace is characterised by two fiercely protective, wing-tip lions that are said to act as guardians to its wearing. Each lion bears the weight of a 5.6-carat pear-shaped diamond. The mademoiselle would have felt absolutely safe under their watch.
What’s enchanting is the allusion to these wings. Patrice Leguereau, the late director of Chanel’s jewellery creation studio, took inspiration from an extract by the fashion visionary: “If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.”
Largely, it was the novelty of it. After all, it is the first time this wing-shaped motif is making an appearance as a key theme. Before this, Chanel’s high jewellery selection used to only revolve around the two other motifs that Gabrielle Chanel held close to her heart.
The comet held special significance for the fiercely superstitious fashion icon, who one suspects wished upon the star more often than she would care to admit. And because she was born under the Leo astrological sign, the mademoiselle believed wholeheartedly in the lion's protective instinct towards its wearer.
Intrigued by the storybook fantasy the motifs offer and the possibilities they bring? The collection encourages one and all to look up to the skies and reach for the stars. "The collection is an open invitation to dream, to shine," Saintville teased.
Both Madame Chanel and the late Leguereau wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
CNA Luxury was in Kyoto at the invitation of Chanel.
