An elegant audience in tweed jackets accessorized with quilted bags flocked to the brand-new building in a working-class neighborhood in northern Paris, known for migrant camps and unaccustomed to the glitz of fashion.

The parade was surrounded by draconian security measures: all guests had to perform a PCR test the day before, in addition to their health pass.

Wearing a mask was required even outside the building.

On the catwalk, an abundance of knitwear, cardigans, but also "total looks" such as a mauve set made up of bustier, culotte skirt, jacket and neck warmer.

Feathers and sequins are omnipresent, the theme of the parade dedicated to craftsmen obliges.

Chanel Métiers d'art show at 19M in Paris, December 7, 2021 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

Chanel is the only fashion house to present the Métiers d'art collections since 2002, to highlight exceptional know-how.

Chanel has acquired since 1985 nearly forty craft houses which lacked funding, located in France, Italy, Spain and Scotland and which employ more than 6,600 people.

Chanel Métiers d'art show in Paris, December 7, 2021 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

With a surface area of ​​25,500 m2, the 19M was imagined by the architect Rudy Ricciotti, author among others of MuCEM in Marseille and of the Department of Islamic Arts at the Louvre Museum, to accommodate 11 houses including the embroiderers Lesage and Montex , the shoemaker Massaro, or the feather and flower expert Lemarié who work with Chanel and other luxury houses.

"When we started working with these houses in the years 1985-1990, they were scattered all over Paris. These workshops have become too small. In order for them to continue to develop and attract new talent, it was necessary to give back a boost to history, "Chanel's president of fashion activities, Bruno Pavlovsky, told AFP in 2019.

The site is named the 19M in reference to the Parisian district where it is located and to which it hopes to bring shine, as well as Gabrielle Chanel's birthday (August 19).

© 2021 AFP