Chanel Brings the Art of Craftsmanship to Shanghai

From haute couture embroidery to contemporary art, craftsmanship is taking centre stage in Shanghai this autumn. Between 25 September and 15 November 2026, CHANEL presents la Galerie du 19M SHANGHAI, transforming the third floor of the Museum of Art Pudong into a meeting point for French savoir faire and Chinese creativity.

While the exhibition carries the CHANEL name, its real focus lies elsewhere: on the remarkable artisans behind some of the world’s finest fashion houses. Created by le19M, the Parisian centre dedicated to preserving and transmitting exceptional craft, the project gathers embroiderers, pleaters, feather makers, milliners, shoemakers and jewellery makers alongside contemporary artists from China and France.

The main exhibition, A Sense of Touch, explores craftsmanship as a living language rather than a nostalgic tradition. Textiles, ceramics, bamboo weaving, lacquer, embroidery and large scale installations create a dialogue between cultures, revealing how the hand remains one of the most powerful creative tools in an increasingly digital world. Established names such as Ding Yi, Yin Xiuzhen, Shen Yuan and Wu Jian’an are presented alongside French artists and the resident Maisons d’Art of le19M.

A second exhibition, Lesage. 100 Years of Fashion and Decoration, celebrates one of the greatest embroidery houses in fashion history. Founded in Paris in 1924, Maison Lesage has collaborated with the biggest names in haute couture for more than a century, while building an archive of over 75,000 embroidery samples. The Shanghai edition also highlights the long standing creative dialogue between French embroidery and Chinese decorative traditions, a source of inspiration dating back to Gabrielle Chanel herself.

Beyond the exhibitions, visitors can take part in embroidery workshops led by Lesage artisans, attend talks with artists and designers, and discover limited publications and objects in the dedicated boutique. The result is less a fashion exhibition than an immersive journey into the extraordinary world of craftsmanship.

For anyone interested in design, fashion, architecture or contemporary art, la Galerie du 19M SHANGHAI offers a rare opportunity to see the invisible hands behind luxury become the stars of the show.

La Galerie du 19M SHANGHAI
Dates: 25 September – 15 November 2026
Venue: Museum of Art Pudong (MAP), Shanghai, China
Instagram: @le19m. www.le19m.com