Chanel embraces big-cat prints

Ropes of pearls (some from oceans, some man-made), two-tone slingbacks, straw boaters, a black-and-white palette: the stylistic codes of Chanel are manifold, and known to many. All are anchored in the life and work of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, who established her namesake business in 1910 in Paris. There are the tweed jackets, their woven fabric a takeaway from long weekends spent in Scotland with Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster; striped Breton tops are a nod to the marinière sailors’ uniforms she spotted in and around Deauville on Normandy’s Côte Fleurie.

Piebald leopard prints are perhaps a lesser-known Chanel heirloom. The pattern first started appearing in Chanel’s work in the early 1930s. Coco herself wore a leopard-print ensemble for Cecil Beaton, when he took her portrait in 1933.

In New York, creative director Matthieu Blazy brought back Chanel’s mastery of big-cat print for his first Chanel Métiers d’art collection, shown inside an abandoned subway station in Lower Manhattan last December. Counting 81 looks that creatively draw from Chanel’s link to the city, the collection comprised skirt suits, billowing silk chiffon skirts, shoes and bags emblazoned with leopard prints. All were made by Chanel’s group of specialist ateliers, including milliner Maison Michel, who imagined a leopard-themed fascinator. Meanwhile, shoemaker Massaro finished Chanel’s totemic slingback in shaved shearling with a spotted animal print.

Handwoven by the artisans of legendary couture embroidery house Maison Lesage, slubbed, knotted leopard tweed shapes a new take on Chanel’s flap bag. A mini version of the Chanel 25, a hobo-style bag available in three sizes, each with two large patch pockets, now comes in a tactile, ponyskin-effect leather.