Simply Abu Dhabi XXII

“Fashion fades,” Coco Chanel famously said; “only style remains the same.” It’s perhaps maxims like these that keep the Chanel Maison producing creatively classic jewellery season after season. Chanel introduced its latest haute joaillerie collection this January, a dazzling display of rock-sized diamonds and matched craftsmanship centred on the quilted matelassé pattern that is as instantly recognisable as being Chanel as beehives to Amy Winehouse or large sunglasses to Jackie O. A horse fanatic, Gabrielle Chanel found inspiration in the equestrian world and the iconic pattern was drawn from the jackets worn by stable boys at racetracks. Quilted fabrics had the added benefit of keeping their shape when stitched, rendering them central to the Chanel look and expanding the range of materials open to the designer, whether jersey, lambskin or silk. Named Signature de Chanel, this jewellery collection nods at the sewing technique so central to the house’s branding – no mean feat when working with stones, metals and filament in place of silks, tweeds and cottons. Forty-eight piece make up the collection paying tribute to the clean lines and geometry at the heart of Chanel’s design philosophy: after all, “elegance is line” as Mademoiselle Chanel once said, describing her fluid, free silhouettes. The creative team have brought impossible texture to combinations of diamonds, sapphires, rock crystals, aquamarines, black and white pearls and white gold. 2 4 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I