Re-creating a slice of Paris
China has become the maiden market for the Metiers d'Art collection this month, following a show that transformed Beijing's 798 art zone to resemble a street in the French capital. Chen Jie reports.
If there is one genre, other than movies or theater, that makes audiences feel they are traversing time and space, it is fashion shows. Inspired by French actresses in Italian movies, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel's artistic director, created a Parisian street in a film studio in Rome for Chanel's 2015 Metiers d'Art show last December. Half a year later, the French house chose Beijing to do it again.
The location was Beijing's 798 art zone. A huge iron tank typically used to store gas for factories separated the world into two parts: Outside was Beijing and inside was an entire Parisian neighborhood with a cafe, restaurant, baker, grocer, fountain, florist and cinema.
