Wings, comets and lions: Inside Chanel's new high jewellery collection reveal in Kyoto

CNA

19-06-2025

"Winging it" took on new meaning for me when I came face to face with Reach For The Stars, Chanel's newest high jewellery collection unveiled at the Meiji Kotokan Hall of the Kyoto National Museum in Japan.
Stunning as the sizeable 109-piece collection imagined from three key elements – the comet, the wings and the lion – was, I found myself particularly drawn to the newly introduced wings motif.
Largely, it was the novelty of it. After all, it is the first time this wing-shaped motif is making an appearance as a key theme. Before this, Chanel's high jewellery selection used to only revolve around the two other motifs that Gabrielle Chanel held close to her heart.
The comet held special significance for the fiercely superstitious fashion icon, who one suspects wished upon the star more often than she would care to admit. And because she was born under the Leo astrological sign, the mademoiselle believed wholeheartedly in the lion's protective instinct towards its wearer.
What's enchanting is the allusion to these wings. Patrice Leguereau, the late director of Chanel's jewellery creation studio, took inspiration from an extract by the fashion visionary: 'If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.'
THE WINGS
And just like that, Chanel "grew" wings. Not just any old wings though but mythical looking ones that look like they leapt right out of a fantastical Greek legend. To my mind, the wing-inspired repertoire is comparable to a beautiful picture book of fabled tales.
To inject life into the collection, Leguereau created jewellery pieces 'illuminated by the rays of the sunset and beyond' that perfectly captures 'the magical moment between day and night when high jewellery sparkles on the skin'.
The star of the wings repertoire is, no doubt, the Wings of Chanel necklace that features an astonishing 19.55-carat cushion-cut Padparadscha sapphire – one of the most expensive and rarest sapphires in the world.
'Padparadscha means lotus flower in the rising sun,' explained Dorothee Saintville, Chanel's international product marketing director of Watches and Fine Jewellery.
'It is very poetic. The white petals of the lotus flower reflect the rays of the rising sun and the flower becomes iridescent. That is the idea of the golden hour behind the collection.'
The exceptional pink-orange hue of the gemstone headlines Leguereau's sunset theme. The flamboyant necklace features a detachable pendant that can also be worn as a bracelet and the matching ring topped by an 8.15-carat D-flawless oval-cut diamond is designed as a set.
Both the Pretty Wings Sapphire and the Pink Hour sets come in pink gold and pink sapphires to depict the magical hour of dusk. While the reds that come by way of spessartite garnets in the Sunny Days set and the rubies in the Wild At Heart set are stellar examples of a flaming sky.
Of note is the set of five brooches aptly named Five Wings. This one-off set, which took three years to complete, is a collaborative effort between Leguereau and prominent Kyoto-based lacquer artisan Yoshio Okada.
While this is not the first time the house has tapped Okada's expertise – they have previously worked together on the Artistic Feather jewellery set and a precious coromandel box – this is by far the most impressive showcase.
'Urushi or Japanese lacquer is the most refined lacquer,' Saintville said. Prized no less than precious gemstones, urushi has been exemplary of Japanese refinement for centuries. Okada's Midas gestures are akin to snapshots of wings in mid-flight.
THE COMET
Drawing attention to the comets on one of the brooches, Saintville highlighted: 'The comet is like a thread between the three [motifs]. The comet is always present. Even if the wing is present as a major element, you still have the comet. The same for the lion.'
Since Madame Chanel designed Bijoux de Diamants, her one and only high jewellery collection from 1932 and based on a single theme of the comet, the star-shaped symbol has remained the crown jewel inspiring every single collection that followed since.
Reimagined in a 'lengthened' format for the collection, the newly interpretated comet has somehow managed to become 'even more radiant' thanks to an American red-carpet sensibility that influenced Leguereau's vision for this high jewellery collection.
It has to be said that this sensibility is a reaction to Madame Chanel's stint in Hollywood. In the 1930s, she was invited to design movie star Gloria Swanson's costumes for the movie Tonight Or Never. There, she acquired a taste for diamond cascades, impressive cocktail rings and striking necklaces.
Reminiscent of Chanel's OG comet from 1932, the new Dreams Come True necklace is a dress code all its own. It is designed to look like the plunging neckline of a couture dress crafted in white gold, black-coated gold and a cascade of diamonds as Chanel herself would have described it. And of course, the showstopper is the sparkling 6.06-carat diamond that sits atop the comet that cinches the beguiling necklace.
THE LION
Also, same but different is the lion motif. 'Patrice used to interpret [the lion] with sculptural lines that is very powerful but this time, it's very airy, celestial and it also has wings. This is a new interpretation,' shared Saintville.
The lion motif was first found on the buttons of Madame Chanel's tweed jacket – she believed that they would watch over her. The lion has since gone on to inspire everything from perfumes, fine jewellery and even high jewellery.
The Embrace Your Destiny necklace is characterised by two fiercely protective, wing-tip lions that are said to act as guardians to its wearing. Each lion bears the weight of a 5.6-carat pear-shaped diamond. The mademoiselle would have felt absolutely safe under their watch.
Intrigued by the storybook fantasy the motifs offer and the possibilities they bring? The collection encourages one and all to look up to the skies and reach for the stars. "The collection is an open invitation to dream, to shine," Saintville teased.