Chanel launches a new cultural podcast
Hosted by the iconic maison, Chanel Connects hosts some of the world’s leading creative voices on this culture-focused audio series
With museums, theatres, cinema, and art galleries being on a pandemic-pause, French fashion house Chanel leads the conversation in regard to “what matters most and what happens next” on culture’s horizon. Chanel’s new podcast was launched to examine the new social reality, prioritising cultural awareness.
You may remember that in 2017, the luxury brand introduced 3.55 podcast, connecting its audience with Chanel’s creative world, from a behind-the-scenes perspective. Now, aware of the need for a new cultural narrative and quite adept with fashion’s cultural identity, Chanel has launched its second audio series, entitled Chanel Connects the episodes. The house said in a statement: ‘Imagine new frontiers for the arts as galleries, museums and stages prepare to reopen to a radically transformed world.’
Gabrielle Chanel herself was an admirer of the greatest artists of her time, and her house continues to pay homage to the founder’s love affair of the arts, bringing together creative game-changers from film, art, architecture, dance, music, and fashion.
“While galleries, stages and studios have been dark, artists have not stopped creating and imagining new ways forward, Chanel Connects sees cultural game-changers delve deep into their imaginations to share ideas across disciplines, projects and institutions." Yana Peel, the brand’s global head of art and cultures explained, "As well as fascinating insight into the minds of today’s most creative innovators, it’s a prescient reminder to continue supporting the arts, championing what’s next and celebrating work that has the power to transform lives and wider society.”
Each one of its eight episodes is self-recorded from the participant’s homes or studios to offer a new-digital way for the most celebrated names in the cultural industry to connect, firstly with each other, in a discussion on what challenges the industry, and then with the listener, providing a new source of inspiration.
Actor Keira Knightley, filmmakers Lulu Wang, Garrett Bradley and Eliza Hittman, artists Arthur Jafa and Jennifer Packer, designer Es Devlin, dancers and artistic directors Akram Khan and Tamara Rojo, and museum curator Andrew Bolton are just some of the featured names welcoming us to their intimate space and sharing their perspective shifting experiences.
What you can expect to hear…
The discussed subjects bring words of optimism in 2021, without leaving behind the situation the world faced in 2020. The topics include making work that stands for something, pushing the boundaries of dance, fashion’s changing context and what makes a piece of art successful.
In the Imagining New Worlds episode, musician, designer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams raises the question of the “opportunistic” world our phones have projected on us, in “The New Heroines”, writer and director Lulu Wang unravels the power of storytelling towards inclusivity and the need for strong women on both sides of the camera.
A conversation regarding the importance of diverse voices is held in “Who’s in the picture?”. There, Nicholas Cullinan, director of The National Portrait Gallery, actress Tilda Swinton and Edward Enninful, Editor in Chief of British Vogue and European editorial director of Vogue’s European editions, perceive acting as a form of portraiture, while addressing the evolving culture of celebrities in the new media landscape.
As Keira Knightley remarks, ‘Culture is there so you can see the world through different people’s eyes.’
Chanel Connects is now available on the Chanel podcast 3.55 through Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Chanel.com.
