Chanel’s Haute Joaillerie Sport: how the bold and sharp colours in the new high jewellery collection reflect movement, speed and energy – and the storied brand’s design ethos

Jun 20, 2024

Keira Knightley at the Chanel Haute Joaillerie Sport event in Monaco, in June. Photo: @leithclarck/Instagram

The range is a vibrant and free-spirited homage to the ‘body awareness’ and ‘freedom of movement’ in Coco Chanel’s sporty creations – the founder had established an atelier devoted to sport clothing

The 80-piece collection was unveiled in Monaco at a gala attended by Keira Knightley and other stars; Chanel’s Marianne Etchebarne tells Style why the oxymoronic set reflects the brand’s creativity

The rarefied and slow-paced realm of high jewellery, and the active and fast-paced world of sports couldn’t be more different from each other, but they surprisingly come together in Chanel’s latest high jewellery collection. Named Haute Joaillerie Sport, the range is a vibrant and free-spirited homage to the “body awareness” and “freedom of movement” in Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s sporty creations.

The Graphic Line necklace in white gold, platinum, diamonds, sapphire, rubies and onyx from Chanel’s latest High Jewellery collection, Haute Joaillerie Sport

The collection was unveiled in Monaco, the home of the Formula One Grand Prix and many glamorous sporting events, at a star-studded gala attended by Keira Knightley and other celebrities. The 80-piece range is a bold move from Chanel’s high jewellery arm, which in the past has celebrated more familiar house signatures such as the lion, the tweed fabric and the comet.

The field of high jewellery rarely defies convention and tends to prize tradition at the expense of innovation. Thus, translating a dynamic concept such as sport into one-of-a-kind jewels made with the rarest of stones was an exciting challenge for the Chanel ateliers.

A ring in white gold, diamonds, sapphire and red lacquer from Chanel’s latest High Jewellery collection, Haute Joaillerie Sport

“Bold, unexpected, different and modern” – this is how Marianne Etchebarne, global head of watches and fine jewellery product marketing, clients and communication at Chanel, describes the range. “High jewellery and sports is an oxymoron. You don’t wear a high jewellery necklace to go jogging,” said Etchebarne in an interview in Monaco.

The theme, however, is also a nod to Coco Chanel’s groundbreaking approach to fashion, Etchebarne explains. Back in 1921, the designer, who was herself an avid equestrian, skier, tennis player and dancer, established an atelier devoted to the making of sport clothing. “It is part of Gabrielle’s history,” says Etchebarne. “So it’s not about referencing a specific sport but the spirit of sport, because she was obsessed with the consciousness of the body and the freedom of women.”

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel riding a horse in 1910 with Arthur Boy Capel

Divided into seven chapters – Graphic Line, Chanel Print, Quilted Icons, Sporty 5, Gold Slider, Sweater Sport and Collector Sport – the collection also stands out for the rarity of the stones sourced by the Chanel’s jewellery team – most notably a set of five Kashmir sapphires – and the use of unconventional materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre.

“The materials are very innovative and the colours are also very assertive: blue, red, yellow; no pastels or harmonious shades but very bold and sharp colours to [convey] this notion of movement, speed, energy,” says Etchebarne. She adds that the high jewellery studio helmed by Patrice Leguéreau has the freedom to come up with out-of-the-box ideas because, unlike storied jewellers, Chanel doesn’t have hundreds of years of jewellery collections to draw upon. “Our patrimony is just Chanel herself, so it’s very abstract,” she says.