Chanel opens ephemeral boutique in neoclassical Edinburgh townhouse

Chanel’s links to Scotland are deep-rooted and longstanding, traceable back to house founder Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel who spent long stretches of time in the Scottish Highlands (largely down to her decade-long love affair with Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, who owned swathes of land in the country). Since, the house has become synonymous with tweed – the hardwearing fabric named after the River Tweed in the Scottish borders – which Coco Chanel began commissioning from local factories in 1924. 

A new ephemeral boutique in the Scottish capital Edinburgh (open from 8 June – 5 August 2023) celebrates this unique relationship, housing Chanel’s Métiers d’art 2023 collection, a selection of watches and fine jewellery, fragrance and beauty across the light-filled three floors. The house says that Edinburgh was a city that Coco Chanel ‘adored’, forming ‘a strong bond with Scotland both aesthetically and professionally, relishing country and town life alike’. Chanel also notes that Scottish weavers and knitwear producers continue to create the house’s cashmere and a selection of its tweeds. 

Chanel opens ephemeral boutique in Edinburgh

The boutique itself is housed in a neoclassical townhouse designed by British architect and designer Robert Adam, complete with bay windows and a generous floorspace of over 5,000 sq ft. Chanel wants it to feel like a ‘charming temporary home’, a reflection of those Coco Chanel would have occupied while in the city in the 1920s. As such, a marble entrance hall is dotted with antiques, artworks and flowers, while homely custom furnishings include Chanel’s golden beige fabrics alongside bolder shades of pink and green tweed. A dining room – complete with a frescoed ceiling – provides a space for ready-to-wear, while other rooms house fitting rooms, accessories and shoes. The upper floor, showcasing watches and jewellery, provides expansive views of the city beyond.

The centrepiece, though, is the house’s Métiers d’art 2023 collection, which was shown in December 2023 at the former Palais de Justice in Dakar, Senegal. The special collection – which is presented each year to highlight the work of the various craftspeople and organisations that Chanel works with on its collections (the ’métiers d’art’) – was inspired by the energy of the 1970s. A celebration of Senegal’s growing artistic and cultural scene, the runway show was accompanied by a major artistic programme in the Palais de Justice space.

‘Real dialogues, nourished over the long term, it is this human and warm dimension that motivates my work and that I try to re-transcribe,’ said creative director Virginie Viard at the time. ‘I put all my soul into it. These marvellous encounters from which artistic adventures like this one are born, that’s what drives me.’

Chanel’s ephemeral Edinburgh boutique is open from 8 June – 5 August 2023 at 8 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4DR.

chanel.com