Chanel must be anticipating the full easing of distancing restrictions and an explosion of the club and dance scene.
Why else would it be channeling the 1990s rave vibe into a family of limited edition watches from across its collection under the Electro banner and borrowing from that era’s graphic codes and culture?
In the 1990s, this music genre offered a world that was radically different and original, reflecting the night scene and the atmosphere in which it emerged, Chanel recalls.
Electronic music moved beyond the confines of the music world and gave rise to an authentic aesthetic culture. Performance became all-encompassing, a sensory, graphic experience transcending the effects of sound. Inextricably linked with the venues in which it unfolded, Electro culture grew into a fully fledged artistic genre.
Many of us are of an age to (vaguely) remember those days, and how we yearn today for a return of the energy as we emerge from the pandemic.
Chanel isn’t making the link to a post-covid cultural explosion, but it may become an unwitting champion.
The idea is to take a watch from each of Chanel’s best selling watch collection and infuse them with the Electro style.
“I conceived this capsule collection like a performance program, inviting our classics, the J12, PREMIÈRE, CODE COCO and BOY·FRIEND, to perform side by side on this stage, drawing their inspiration from the codes of this world,” explains Arnaud Chastaingt, Director of the Watchmaking Creation Studio.
J12 Electro
Inspired by the energy of electronic music, CHANEL reinvents the J12 watch, icon of 21st- century Watchmaking, in a black highly resistant ceramic and steel model with accents of vibrant color in its numerals.
Available in a 38mm version equipped with the Calibre 12.1 or a 33mm version equipped with a high precision quartz movement.
Limited editions of 1255 pieces each.
PREMIÈRE ELECTRO
Inspired by the energy of electronic music, CHANEL reinvents the PREMIÈRE watch in a blackened steel version with a chain bracelet interwoven with multicolored leather and equipped with a high precision quartz movement.
Limited edition of 555 pieces.
CODE COCO ELECTRO
Inspired by the energy of electronic music, CHANEL reinvents the CODE COCO watch with a quilted pattern leather strap in neon pink with black braiding. A blackened steel design set with a princess-cut diamond and equipped with a high precision quartz movement.
Limited edition of 255 pieces.