Manchester transformed into A-list city as Chanel host first UK fashion show
Hollywood stars and A-listers including the Beckhams are set to descend on Manchester for Chanel’s first UK fashion show in over a decade today.
The French fashion house has transformed Thomas Street in the city’s Northern Quarter into a runway for the The Metiers d’Art Show at 5pm tonight. The exclusive guestlist is rumoured to include David and Victoria Beckham, and Kylie Jenner, as well as British Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
Hollywood actresses Julia Roberts and Kristen Stewart were also spotted in the city yesterday. Earlier this week Chanel chartered more than 20 private jets to fly the stars into Manchester Airport’s Signature terminal.
Barriers were put up at the end of Thomas Street on Wednesday afternoon (MEN Staff)An insider told the Mirror that a number of celebrities are staying at ex-footballer Gary Neville’s luxury Stock Exchange Hotel in the city. Twilight star Kristen Stewart was spotted outside the plush hotel yesterday, which boasts just 40 suites and hosted megastar Madonna last month.
No expense has been spared on the show, which has been kept a closely guarded secret until now. Hundreds of security guards manned entrances to Thomas Street, which was blocked from view with 6ft fences and black tarpaulin yesterday.
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A poster at The Millstone on Thomas Street (MEN Staff)Businesses in the street have been paid to remain shut for the past fortnight and sworn to secrecy with non-disclosure agreements. One bar was reportedly paid £47,000 to close its doors while the set is built for the show.
The street features a number of retro stores including a clothes shop fronted as an old post office and a 70s-style hardware shop. Some 600 invitations were sent out in the form of a goodie bag containing a black and white cashmere Chanel scarf with MCR embroidered into it.
Anna Wintour is also among the guests (VCG via Getty Images)The bags also included a magazine with the iconic Coronation Street street sign changed to read Chanel St. After the show, guests will head to an afterparty at the city’s Grade II listed Victorian Baths, which has been transformed into a plush, trendy venue.
Two restaurants have also been booked out for guests to enjoy a bite to eat. One of them is MasterChef winner Simon Wood’s restaurant WOOD. Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord told the Mirror: “If someone would have told me 10 years ago that Chanel were going to choose Thomas Street in Manchester for their global fashion show, I wouldn’t have believed them.
A bar's cocktail named after Anna Wintour (MEN Staff)“The spotlight that is on the city centre is phenomenal. Every single suite in every major hotel has sold out. It’s not one of those events where you’re going to get a few soap stars turning up we know there are Hollywood A-listers coming.”
He added: “The restaurants and bars are going to be bouncing off the back of this. For the night time economy, it is substantial. When I started my career nearly 30 years ago at Hacienda, everyone from Paris to New York was looking at what Manchester was doing. It feels to me like we are having this moment again.
Kristen Stewart photographed in Manchester ahead of the Chanel show (Sean Hansford)“This feels like a stamp of approval, that we are a major player. They are block-booking restaurants out and there is talk of the A-listers arriving in golden cabs. It must have cost them tens of millions to host this.
“When you look where it has been previously, the fact they have chosen Manchester is incredible.” Manchester has been producing icons of sport, culture, fashion and music for decades.
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Chanel Metier d’Art Fashion show set being built in Manchester’s Northern Quarter (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)But before Joy Division, The Buzzcocks, New Order and Oasis, the city was known as the Cottonopolis of the Industrial Revolution. It is this era in the city’s history that caught the attention of Chanel’s Creative Director, Virginie Viard.
Viard, who succeeded Karl Lagerfeld to the position following his death in 2019, was introduced to the fashion industry by her grandparents, who were silk manufacturers. A video montage posted on the Chanel Instagram account paid homage to Manchester legends from footballer George Best to Emmeline Pankhurst.
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A private jet arriving at Manchester yesterday (CHRIS NEILL)Noah Livingstone, who manages a coffee shop near Thomas Street said: “Everyone is super-excited, some people might look down their nose at it but most people are buzzing that it is in Manchester.” Chanel’s Metiers d’Art shows are renowned for grandeur and opulence, and showcase the craftsmanship and skills of the experts who work with the fashion house.
Work on display will include embroidery, featherwork, shoemaking and more. Previous collections have taken inspiration from places and periods including Scotland, Byzantine art, the 1960s and Ancient Egypt. Austria, Italy and Senegal have all hosted.
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