Chanel has launched its new high jewellery collection, Reach for the Stars, in Kyoto, Japan. This event follows closely on the heels of Cartier’s recent high jewellery debut in Stockholm. Chanel invited a select group of clients, editors, and celebrities to reveal the collection in the ancient Japanese capital.
The new range honors the celestial themes that have long been part of Chanel’s jewellery style. It also pays tribute to the brand’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
Coco Chanel created her only high jewellery collection in 1932 in Paris. That collection featured motifs such as comets, inspired by constellations, and became one of her most famous works.
Before that, Chanel had traveled to Hollywood. There, she designed costumes for movies including Tonight or Never (1931), starring Gloria Swanson. This time in Hollywood inspired the Reach for the Stars collection, which celebrates the golden age of Hollywood and its stars.
Most pieces in the collection are designed for glamorous red-carpet events. Sets like Take My Breath Away, Dreams Come True, and the Wings of Chanel necklace all reflect this style.
Frédéric Grangié, president of Chanel watches and fine jewellery, explained the collection during an interview in Kyoto. He said, “This collection is almost like a dress code. Some pieces remind me of evening dresses. It is very glamorous. When Coco Chanel was in Hollywood, she treated glamour differently. Coming from couture, she made light dresses focusing on the back, with silk or muslin sleeves that gave a winged silhouette.”
The comet returns as a key motif and appears in every piece. However, Reach for the Stars introduces a new symbol: the wing.
Patrice Leguéreau, the late director of Chanel’s jewellery creation studio, designed this collection before his death last year. He was inspired by one of Coco Chanel’s famous sayings: “If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.”
Wings represent freedom of movement, something Coco Chanel valued in her ready-to-wear fashion. The wings appear in striking pieces, including the Wings of Chanel necklace. Techniques like openwork and asymmetrical stone settings give these pieces a sense of lightness.
Another Chanel symbol, the lion, returns in this collection. Leguéreau first introduced the lion in 2012 as a tribute to Gabrielle Chanel’s zodiac sign. Now, the lion appears in a more abstract form. For example, the Embrace Your Destiny necklace features two winged lions facing each other. This bold piece is designed to be a statement item, according to Grangié.
Choosing Kyoto for the launch was easy for Grangié. He lived and worked in Japan before joining Chanel. There is also a special connection between Chanel’s jewellery workshops and Kyoto.
Leguéreau began collaborating nearly ten years ago with Yoshio Okada, a lacquer artist based in Kyoto. He wanted to reveal a high jewellery collection in Japan, making this launch especially meaningful.
The collection includes five white gold and diamond wing brooches decorated with Okada’s lacquer work. These brooches pay tribute to Kyoto’s rich arts and crafts tradition.
Grangié describes the idea of “reaching for the stars” as a fitting metaphor for Chanel’s ambitions in high jewellery. Unlike some maisons founded mainly as jewellers, Chanel started as a fashion house. This can be an advantage because it allows Chanel to create its own jewellery story.
While Chanel is known primarily as a fashion brand, its watches and jewellery have grown in importance. Since joining in 2016, Grangié has helped expand this portfolio. He calls Reach for the Stars one of Chanel’s “most important collections ever” and a “new foundation” in the brand’s high jewellery history.
Following successful collections like Tweed de Chanel and Haute Joaillerie Sport, Reach for the Stars holds special meaning for Grangié and his team. It honors Leguéreau’s remarkable work and reflects the spirit of innovation rooted in haute couture that defines Chanel’s jewellery world.
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