Chanel has one of my favorite brand images. I love everything about Chanel. The Frenchness. The legacy of Gabrielle Chanel – simplistic elegance, feminine feminism in her time. The craftmanship. The independence of the company as family-owned.
Chanel has worked with artists and arts institution for years, respecting the legacy of Coco Chanel, who had many artist friends such as Picasso, Cocteau and Stravinsky. In general, bridging fashion and the arts seems like an easy fit there. Chanel highlights the craftmanship, cultural heritage, aesthetics or artistry of its designers and creative directors. Many creative directors are in fact artists at heart.
A few weeks back, Chanel launched the first edition of its Culture & Art Magazine that highlights the brands collaborations with artists and arts institutions, speaks about the aim and projects of the Chanel Culture Fund but also just discusses cultural phenomena.
This is part of what I call Chanel’s cultural strategy – and yes, a company can have one – bridging fashion and art. It self-evidently supports the marketing strategy by the association of the brand with the arts, thus raising its value. But it also comes from the company’s aim to create more value in the society by giving exposure to the arts, artists and arts institutions. Chanel as a company wants to support creativity and it wishes to be an example in the luxury field.
The Chanel Culture Fund forms institutional partnerships with institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris) or Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and biennally awards the Chanel Next Price to 10 creators in different fields, each receiving €100,000.
Which Finnish brand or company would you easily associate with the arts?