19M, or the prestigious showcase of Chanel's fine crafts

Chanel, the famous fashion house is rich in an extraordinary heritage of very beautiful houses, and has decided to bring them together in a new high place of French creation, in a space of exchange and collaborative work called 19M. The 19th? Gabrielle Chanel's birthday is also the day she was born, it is also the borough chosen for the project. The M? M as Art Professions, as Fashion, as Hand, House and Manufacture... An absolute attachment to all these craftsmen.

Inauguration planned for autumn 2020. The structure was unveiled by Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel's fashion activities. "The 19M is an ambitious project, both in terms of its urban and architectural qualities and its functionality and objectives in terms of innovation and sustainable development. Our objective is to ensure that this exceptional heritage of crafts continues and develops, at the crossroads of Paris' cultural influence and the societal challenges of fashion," explains Bruno Pavlovsky.

What are these exceptional houses? There are more than ten of them, belonging to Chanel's Paraffection subsidiary with a total of 600 craftsmen with ancestral know-how. Among them, the famous embroidery house Lesage, the bootmaker Massaro, the great plumage and florist Lemarié, the pleater Lognon, the house Michel, hatmaker and milliner or the goldsmith - jeweller Goosens.

A sharing of excellence that will be housed on more than 25,000 m2, designed by architect Rudy Ricciotti, author of the Mucem in Marseille, among others.  Why did you choose this architect? "Because he had the craziest idea. Who else would want to drap our building under a concrete cloth? More seriously, what convinced us was its proposal for the management of the space, its use of light and the adaptation of the building to each craft", replied Bruno Pavlovsky.

Bruno Pavlosky wants the 19M to be both a workshop and a showcase, a living house open to the world, a nerve centre where craftsmen but also the public, schools, students and art lovers can meet.

To become part of the life of the district, an artistic project has been created, a 130-metre-long fresco displayed on the site's palisade. Designed by Case Maclaim, a German muralist, the fresco features the hands of craftsmen working on jewellery and fashion accessories.

A full-fledged player in the future Greater Paris, the 19M moved to the 19th arrondissement, a district in the midst of a renaissance near the Porte de Pantin. In 1982, Hermès set up offices and leather goods workshops there, very close to the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, a famous contemporary art dealer. As Thibaut de La Rivière, director of Sup de luxe, points out, "This district is booming every day, and the 2024 Olympic Games will contribute to this development. This is also where the new premises of Planeta France's headquarters are located, and where the Bachelor of Higher Luxury Studies cycle is located."