Chanel's latest presentation pays tribute to NYC with a star-studded runway show on an actual subway platform

NEW YORK (AP) Chanel's latest creative director, Matthieu Blazy, brought his designs to an unexpected setting on Tuesday, presenting a runway show on an actual New York subway platform. Only weeks after his debut in Paris for Chanel, Blazy transformed a retired section of Manhattan's Bowery station for his first Mtiers dArt collection.

The annual Mtiers dArt event travels to a different city each year, highlighting the exceptional work of artisans collaborating with Chanel. This edition featured two separate shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The first Chanel shows in New York since 2018 attracted a star-studded crowd including A$AP Rocky, Tilda Swinton, Ayo Edebiri, Rose Byrne, Kristen Stewart, Sofia Coppola, Lupita Nyongo, Jessie Buckley, Margaret Qualley, Bowen Yang, and Jon Bon Jovi.

The venue remained a closely guarded secret. Guests entered through a door at 168 Bowery and initially encountered a space designed to resemble a subway station, complete with tiled walls, turnstiles, and a newsstand with custom newspapers. But descending a flight of stairs revealed the authentic platform, where bleacher-style seating mimicked subway benches. Familiar announcements, like Stand clear of the closing doors! played as models arrived on a train, walking directly onto the platform.

Blazys approach contrasted sharply with Karl Lagerfelds 2018 Mtiers dArt show, which took place in the Egyptian Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and evoked the grandeur of Egyptian royalty. Instead, Blazy drew inspiration from everyday New York commuters of all ages, blending styles from the 1920s onward. The New York subway belongs to all, Blazy wrote in his notes. Everyone uses it. There are students and game-changers, statesmen and teenagers. It is a place full of wonderful encounters, a clash of pop archetypes.

Models navigated the platform as if checking for trains, feigning impatience or leaning casually against posts, creating a sense of an actual rush hour. The collection mixed classic Chanel suits with casual T-shirts, tweed coats, flowing capes, and colorful skirts, emphasizing the craftsmanship behind each piece. The show concluded with an energetic finale featuring the Happy Days theme song.

Kristen Stewart, attending the afternoon show, described the experience as emotionally powerful. I genuinely had an emotional response to the show. I felt like I just saw so many different versions of a person walking. It wasn't one woman, she said. She noted the subway setting gave the impression of fleeting, caught moments, and praised the realism of the presentation. Chanel even printed its own newspaper, La Gazette, featuring articles and interviews. Blazy mentioned that part of his inspiration came from Gabrielle Coco Chanels 1931 visit to New York. Its almost like its the vortex of the city, he said. It connects everything.

Author: Sophia Brooks