Thai actress and model Chutimon Chuengcharoe Nsukying wears the Embrace your Destiny necklace, featuring lions sculpted from diamonds (Photo: Chanel)
Fans of Jim Morrison and The Doors would be familiar with this evocative line from A Feast of Friends: “Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings where we had shoulders.”
It is not one of the 60s rock group’s more well-known hits, which Morrison recorded solo in his own name but with the same band members. Poetic and philosophical, the words conjure up the possibility of death as a beautiful, transformative experience. It is with this fatalistic tinge that the house of Chanel recently unveiled its 2025 high jewellery collection, titled Reach for the Stars.
Frédéric Grangié, president of Chanel Watches & Fine Jewellery, explained why they chose the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto as the setting: “The collection was meant to be presented by Patrice Leguéreau, who passed away too soon. We chose this destination together [as we were] inspired by Japan’s craftsmanship, its reverence for the perfect gesture, and its pursuit of excellence across generations.” (The head of Chanel’s fine jewellery creation for the past 15 years succumbed to an unspecified illness last November.)
West meets east
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Certainly, Kyoto is a vibrant trove of living heritage, populated by families who devote themselves to a single art form for centuries. Examples include Ichimonjiya Wasuke, a traditional confectionery shop established over a thousand years ago to serve aburi-mochi (roasted rice cakes) and tea to pilgrims who came to pray at the nearby Imamiya Shrine; Kazuya Nanjo, now into its seventh generation of sahari and orin bellfounders; or Senoshi, founded in the 1620s by a celebrated lacquer craftsman fleeing war in China and whose exquisite ikkanbari (lacquered papier-mâché) art is upheld by the 14th generation of shokunin (craftsmen) today.
“As a visionary artist and craftsman of the sublime, Patrice always viewed high jewellery as an art form, a language and a legacy. In Japan, he saw a reflection of his own commitment to high jewellery, where hand and mind unite in the pursuit of perfection,” says Grangié. And so, to fete their special clients as well as members of the international media, Chanel organised a special viewing of the year’s latest treasures that doubled as an immersion in Kyoto culture.
Commanding the Meiji Kotokan Hall of the National Museum of Kyoto for the occasion, it proved to be a particularly thoughtful choice of venue as its design subtly blends Louvre-inspired Baroque architecture with Japanese design sensibilities. Entering through the West Gate, guests wended their way around the museum’s water fountain garden and a sculpture of Rodin’s Le Penseur, before ascending a flight of steps into the Katayama Tōkuma-designed redbrick building. If one took the trouble to gaze upwards, one would notice how the gable portico is adorned with a chrysanthemum medallion as well as, interestingly, a relief sculpture of Vishvakarma and Mahesvara, two Buddhist divinities of the arts.
Heavens sent
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There is a beautiful quote by Zimbabwean-born author Matshona Dhliwayo on how “Stars don’t beg the world for attention; their beauty forces us to look up”. It has been almost a century since Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel audaciously launched Bijoux de Diamants, her first high jewellery collection. It turned out to be a watershed, marking the moment a fashion designer possessed the derring-do to take on the closed and jealously guarded realm of the jeweller.
Working with the Diamond Corporation Limited of London, Mademoiselle (as she was always referred to) presented 50 pieces in platinum and yellow gold, studded with white and yellow diamonds, with 22 clearly inspired by the heavens, featuring motifs of stars, comets, the moon and sun. Stars, in particular, were an emblem she considered “eternally modern”. Beautiful, exciting and a veritable breath of fresh air from anything ever seen before in the world of high jewellery, Bijoux de Diamants sent the diamond company’s stocks jumping in value a mere two days after it was released.
Fast forward to the present, the new Reach for the Stars collection remains as brilliant and bold as you would expect heavenly bodies to be. Continuing to cast their gaze heavenwards, literally and figuratively, Chanel’s team of master craftsmen worked with the finest gemstones available to create high jewellery that was both contemporary and timeless, comprising 109 pieces in total, with 90 made for 2025. The maison’s fine jewellery creation studio focused on three emblematic categories — the Comet, the Wings and the Lion, each a personal and powerful totem in Chanel’s universe — to create open necklaces, between-the-fingers rings, asymmetrical ear pendants, cuffs and more.
Famously superstitious and firmly placing her trust in talismans and lucky charms, Mademoiselle viewed comets and stars as sources of magic and inspiration. The modular Dreams Come True necklace, for example, evokes a radiant night sky while the clasp features a comet as its central motif. Take My Breath Away — a necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings suite — features l’etoile equally prominently. For a bejewelled piece with a difference, a Silhouette Clock Statuette is also offered this time, crafted in yellow and white gold, natural polished diamonds, black jade and blue lacquer.
Fly high
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Born under the sign of Leo, Coco Chanel also loved the winged Lion of Venice and embraced the majestic creature’s traits and characteristics as her attitude towards life — fierce, proud and unapologetic. The star piece here is undoubtedly Embrace Your Destiny, a necklace that could easily be imagined adorning the neck of an ancient empress. It features two leonine profiles entirely sculpted from a starry cascade of natural polished diamonds, and each beast is anchored by a perfect pear-shaped diamond weighing no less than 5.60 carats. Not to be outdone is Be The One, for which diamonds, yellow sapphires and spessartite garnets are used to form the mane.
For those who love a pop of colour and believe in the metaphysical, the Follow Your Heart necklace features pearly, opalescent moonstones — a symbol of new beginnings, emotional balance and feminine energy. Lashings of diamonds and rubies as well as a pear-shaped 7.81-carat red spinel drop attached beneath a bejewelled star give the design dreamy gracefulness but with a rock star-ish edge.
Joining the long-established symbols of the lion and comet for the first time are wings — a tribute to the famous Chanel aphorism of: “If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing,” powerful words that emphasise the idea of personal growth and constantly living up to one’s full potential, regardless of the circumstance. Naturally, a stellar gemstone is needed to express the star winged piece. And Wings of Chanel does so magnificently with a 19.55-carat pink-orange Padparadscha sapphire, whose design is further enhanced by a trail of sparkling diamonds. Transformable, the hanging line may also be removed, allowing the piece to be worn alone as a bracelet along with a shorter version of the necklace.
Starry, starry night
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Such a celestial collection requires the presence of real-life stars as well, and Chanel invited some of the most exciting names in Asia to lend megawatt glamour to the celebratory gala dinner, held on the loftiest point of the Higashiyama hills in the east of Kyoto. Legend says this was the exact site identified by Emperor Kammu in the eighth century on which to build his new capital city. As guests admired the views over the mist-clad valley, live music courtesy of a bluegrassy guitar and double bass duo, as well as a drone light show that choreographed movements to create a vibrant visual spectacle of the house’s emblems, such as stars, wings, comets and a lion’s head, regional celebrities including Kim Go-eun, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Hannah Quinlivan, Nana Komatsu, Sakura Ando, Hio Miyazawa, Wu Meng-Ke and Fala Chen turned up, accented with the actual symbols from the precious high jewellery collection.
After dinner prepared by a team from Alain Ducasse concluded in the historic temple hall of Shōgunzuka Seiryūden, a rousing taiko drum performance signalled the triumphant finale of Reach for the Stars’ launch. And yet, even as the evening wound down, a [paraphrased] verse by Edo period poet Matsuo Bashō came to mind: “Even in Kyoto, I long for Kyoto”, capturing the profound attachment that is so easily formed when Chanel envelopes you in an experience.
As a parting note, Grangié offered one last observation. “During his last visit to Japan, Patrice captured a blue iris, a symbol of wisdom and respect that also evokes transmission. This flower represented the passion he shared with artisans and his team, bringing life to creations where craftsmanship met boldness. Much like this drawing, this collection embodies Patrice’s deep respect for artisanal know how and his constant pursuit of innovation and beauty. The Japanese proverb shi wa hajimari translates to ‘death is a beginning’, and Patrice will continue to shine through each piece, each sparkle and every hand he touched. In Kyoto this week, more than ever, he is with us.” So, too, the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel herself, it would seem.
This article first appeared on June 23, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
