Chanel’s Métiers d’Art
at the Grand Palais Reopening

(Craftmanship) Fifteen meters tall, eight meters wide, spanning 120 m², with 900 hours of design and 700 hours of handcrafting—this monumental curtain, created by le19M, embodies a bold ambition. Unveiled on 19 June, 2025 at the official reopening of the Grand Palais, following an extensive restoration project supported by Chanel, its exclusive and longstanding patron, this stunning artwork marks the grand return of this iconic Parisian landmark to centre stage.

By a twist of fate, the date aligns with Gabrielle Chanel’s lucky number—19 August, her birthday. This emblematic digit has become a talisman: a fragrance (N°19), a place (the 19M), and above all, a manifesto. Opened in 2022 in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, the 19M brings together Chanel’s métiers d’art—shoemakers, bootmakers, hatmakers—united by a steadfast commitment to transmission, the preservation of exceptional craftsmanship, and the celebration of contemporary creativity.

This very mission lies at the heart of the Grand Palais project. Seven artisan Maisons collaborated under the artistic direction of Matthieu Bassé at MTX. Founded by Ateliers Montex, the studio was established to translate traditional embroidery—once reserved exclusively for fashion—into the realm of interior decoration. By weaving together thread, needle, and techniques drawn from tapestry and leatherwork, including riveting, MTX elevates this French savoir-faire to an architectural scale.

A true feat of craftsmanship, the ornamental curtain at the Grand Palais addresses a major functional challenge: designed as a light, mobile screen, it conceals the view between the central square and the nave—host to numerous private events—without interrupting the flow of natural light from the glass roof.

Like an invitation to lift one’s gaze to the canopy overhead, nine vertical panels rise before the central serliana, extending the perspective to the Gabrielle Chanel entrance at the nave’s far end. The motif evokes a cascading rain shower, rendered in a refined palette ranging from reseda green—a nod to the building’s metal framework—to deep blue. Each craft house has contributed a sensitive and singular interpretation in the curtain’s lower section, at eye level. Visitors can appreciate the subtle material finishes: exquisite embroidery, pleats and smocking, goldsmithing techniques, feather marquetry … all woven into a distinctly modern aesthetic. The curtain is viewed from afar but read intimately, like a stratified artwork: each layer reveals precious craftsmanship—carriers of a living heritage, handed down, enriched, and reinterpreted over time.

This is not Chanel’s first engagement with the Grand Palais. Built for the 1900 World’s Fair, the monument boasts Europe’s largest glass roof. Its majestic décor has long inspired the House, which since 2005 has conceived some of fashion’s most spectacular scenographies here: a Versailles-style French formal garden, a chic casino, a life-size supermarket … Haute Couture and Ready-to-Wear shows by Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard, alongside campaign shoots and films, have all found in the Grand Palais a fitting stage for their immersive narratives.

The le19M curtain does more than connect two spaces. This suspended gesture reflects a vision for the future of our heritage—a time when ornament becomes a statement and the métiers d’art, long kept behind the scenes, reclaim their role in shaping contemporary creation.