Chanel – Major Patron of the Grand Palais
As the exclusive and long-standing patron of the Grand Palais since 2018, CHANEL is renewing its commitment to the GrandPalaisRmn for a further five years as patron of the Grand Palais’ cultural and artistic programme through the GrandPalaisRmn endowment fund. CHANEL thus becomes the Major Patron of the Grand Palais. The dialogue between the Grand Palais and CHANEL is a well-established one.
In 2005, the Nave became the backdrop for the House shows and like a veritable playground for Karl Lagerfeld’s imagination, it welcomed a succession of extraordinary settings. From monumental sculptures of the CHANEL jacket and Gabrielle Chanel’s beloved lion to full-scale reproductions of a supermarket and a rocket, every show was an event that caught the world’s imagination. “The Grand Palais is this incredible machine that creates dreams. For us, it’s one of the places that embody the House of Chanel, in the same way as the Rue Cambon or the Place Vendôme,” says Bruno Pavlovsky, President of CHANEL Fashion. “We’re proud to continue our commitment to this important cultural player in the capital. The transformation of the Grand Palais will have a major impact on the influence of Paris and France. Like the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais will span the centuries.”
In 2018, CHANEL pledged its support to the restoration and refurbishment of the Grand Palais, an ambitious undertaking aimed at preserving this architectural gem and restoring it to the genius and beauty of its original design. Today, CHANEL is reinforcing its commitment with a new investment of thirty million euros destined to support the GrandPalaisRmn’s 2024-2028 artistic and cultural programme. “A century after it was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Grand Palaisis getting ready to unveil its former splendour, thanks to a restoration project led by thousands of ‘compagnons’ [specialised artisans] and highly skilled construction workers,” explains Didier Fusillier, President of the GrandPalaisRmn. “Beneath its reseda-green metal framework and walls painted a delicate cream white, the Grand Palais, now adapted to today’s challenges of conservancy and operation, is getting ready to start a new chapter in its history. An innovative programme will embrace the fine arts, contemporary art, festivities and live entertainment.
We’re delighted that CHANEL is accompanying this artistic movement, in line with its investment in the restoration of the building.” In April 2024, the French President, Emmanuel Macron visited the building site and inaugurated the entrance to the Nave, renamed “Gabrielle Chanel” in tribute to the founder of the House.
In October 2024, CHANEL will return to the Grand Palais with its Spring-Summer 2025 Ready-to-Wear show, before the art fairs and exhibitions at the end of 2024. In June 2025 the general public will be able to discover the new spaces at the heart of the Grand Palais, notably for exhibitions and potentially other events taking place in the Nave. To this end, a monumental curtain designed by Studio MTX – the interior decor department of the Montex embroidery atelier – will render this central space fully adaptable to a wide variety of events.
This curtain will be embroidered during participatory workshops open to all, to be held at la Galerie du 19M Paris/Aubervilliers from November onwards, with the complicity of other Maisons d’art residing at le19M. With heritage and creation at its core, le19M is dedicated to the transmission of the fashion and decoration Métiers d’art. Inaugurated in January 2022, it is the culmination of a savoir-faire preservation policy initiated in the 1980s by the House of CHANEL. Like the patronage of the Palais Galliera and the Opéra national de Paris, this accompanying of the Grand Palais is part of CHANEL’s commitment to promoting the cultural and artistic influence of Paris and its institutions.
