Manchester has just overtaken Birmingham to gain the title of the UK’s “second city”, and a scan of its skyline and its continually sprouting skyscrapers confirms that this is a city on the rise. On the ground, the situation’s the same. Manchester’s thriving independent music scene puts London’s rapidly atrophying nightlife to shame, and the resurgence of a local independent media scene – spearheaded by the new online newspaper The Mill – means that the city is speaking once more with a voice of its own.

Chanel’s decision to stage its annual Métiers d’Art show in Manchester back in December raised some eyebrows due to the perceived contrast between the polished French fashion house and the assumed grit of the Mancunian metropolis, but upon closer examination, the connective threads become clear. Allegedly it was Gabrielle Chanel’s British beau the Duke of Westminster who introduced her to the city where she would often source cotton and velvet on day trips from Eaton Hall, the Duke’s family estate in nearby Cheshire.

The industrial prowess of Manchester’s fabric factories, which earned it the moniker “Cottonopolis” in the 19th century, led Chanel to work directly with producers at the Manchester Velvet Company in the 1930s to create bespoke materials for her designs. This synergy found its expression at Chanel’s Métiers d’Art 2024 show, which took over a whole street in the Northern Quarter to present the new collection, keeping the focus quite literally on the brick and mortar that makes up the city. 

Chanel got to work, building a towering, rain-proof canopy down Thomas Street, lined with shopfronts including a tattoo parlour, hardware store, record shop and a handful of dimly lit bars. The street became a fitting backdrop for creative director Virginie Viard’s collection that looked at the grey streets through a kaleidoscope of colour and sound. As Manchester once again becomes a centre of power, commerce and creativity, Chanel’s appearance in the city acknowledged both its new influence and rich textile history, so entwined with the brand’s focus on material, craft and provenance – perhaps proving that while the skyline is changing fast, street level is where culture and creativity still walk. ◉