As with all of Saachi‘s exhibitions, there is plenty to see at the Mademoiselle Prive Exhibition which is currently on show. By the nature of the building, you become completely emersed into the brand once you are in and I was surpised to find that the exhibition was more about the brand itself rather than the products that they create. This said, there is no shortage of things to see with rooms dedicated to the fragrances, jewellery collection, fashion, fabrics, symbols and gardens of the House of Chanel.
As there is so much to include, we would just like to share a few of our highlights from an embroidery perspective. The textures room is a great one to visit as they have huge swathes of the classic Chanel cloths hanging from the ceiling for you to wander through and brush off. This also links in with the presentation of some of the symbols and ‘lucky charms’ of Chanel such as the interlocking ‘Cs’, Wheat, Pearls and Camellias which once highlighted, you can fail to see everywhere.
In the upper rooms, they are holding workshops through out the day, if you are lucky enough to get a place on one where they are teaching embroidery, flower making and fragrance combinations. It is here that there were what was the most interesting part from an embrodierers persepctive, the samples from Lesage and Lemarie. The combinations of textures and classic Chanel elements were really lovely.
There were was also a display of some of the Lemarie Camillias that can be seen dotted through the collections and the tools they use to make them. The antique look to the tools reminds you how distingished this House is, but by the way they make them and continue to use them keeps the final product looking fresh and modern.
The garments themseleves take somewhat of a back seat in this exhibition, used simply to display the diamonds against in one room and as a stand for the embroidered fabrics in the other. In this room there is plenty of tambour bead work, feather and fabric manipulation to enjoy, inpiration for any budding designer.
The Mademoiselle Prive Exhibition is only on until 1st November 2015, so don’t miss out on your chance to see it while its in London and pick your own highlights from what is on show.