02/01/2022

The Art Of Opulence: Falling In Love With Chanel’s Red Edition Collection

The house goes rogue in rouge, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

By Rhonda Riche

Editor-At-Large

The over-the-top extravagance of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week is back, baby! This means that, between Monday, January 24th and Thursday, January 27th, fifteen maisons gathered under the auspices of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode for a return to in-person runway shows and showed off their Spring/Summer 2022 collections. And, of course, they did it in the grandest possible fashion.

The most spectacular catwalks came courtesy of Chanel. Working with artist Xavier Veilhan, Chanel designer Virginie Viard showed her Spring-Summer 2022 collection at the Grand Palais. The show opened with real-life royalty Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and granddaughter of Grace Kelly, riding onto the runway on horseback wearing a sequined black tweed jacket.

Charlotte Casiraghi opened the Chanel haute couture show Spring-Summer 2022 on horseback dear to the founder of the house, Gabrielle Chanel © Getty Images

Chanel’s watchmaking division is also leaning into the glamour with its new Red Edition collection of hot-hued timepieces: two new Boy•Friend watches and a new take on the J12 X-Ray.

Here’s why we think these hot watches are the perfect love letter to yourself.

Primary Color

While Chanel’s Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week presentation was glamorous and extravagant, the collection also referenced the geometric shapes of the avant-garde constructivism art movement. The movement, which aims to make the viewer an active participant in the art, was also noted for its saturated color palette.

Chanel haute couture show Spring-Summer 2022

In fact, one of the most famous of the Constructivists, and one of the movement’s founders, Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891–1956), once stated: “I reduced painting to its logical conclusion and exhibited three canvases: red, blue, yellow. I affirmed: it’s all over. Basic colors. Every plane is a plane, and there is to be no more representation.”

Aleksandr Rodchenko, ‘Pure Red Colour’, ‘Pure Yellow Colour’, ‘Pure Blue Colour‘, 1921 © Tate Modern, London

The 18K white gold bezel and bracelet are bedazzled with baguette-cut rubies. Plus, an additional 12 baguette-cut rubies are set on the sapphire dial, while A single sparkling diamond caps the crown.

The new Chanel J12 X-Ray Red Edition

For the 38mm J12 X-Ray Red Edition, the planes of the iconic ceramic watch have been further reduced by the use of its transparent sapphire crystal, dial, bridge, and caseback. But more than that, its pellucid construction also allows for a clear view of the red-tinted open work Caliber 3.1.

Caseback of the new Chanel J12 X-Ray Red Edition

Of course, such opulence comes with a price, though we are unable to give you one. For you see, the Chanel J12 X-Ray Red Edition is limited to 12 pieces with pricing available upon request.

Be My Boyfriend

In addition to bold colors, Rodchenko’s work was also noted for its angular lines. So, while the round J12 is Chanel’s signature timepiece, the house’s first horological offering was the octagonal Première. And in 2015, they introduced the rectangular Boy•Friend.

The first Chanel Boy•Friend introduced in 2015

Now, Chanel is showcasing this model’s inner beauty with the Boy•Friend Skeleton Red and Boy•Friend Skeleton X-RAY Red Editions. Both recall the chamfered edges and rectangular shape of a bottle of Chanel No. 5. Both share the same case dimensions (37mm x 28.6mm). And finally, both share the same interesting in-house Caliber 3 movement – a mechanism featuring a circular architecture, with the gears centered within a series of open circles.

Chanel in-house Caliber 3 movement

However, unlike the Boy•Friend Skeleton Red, the X-RAY version boasts a fully transparent sapphire case with 18K beige gold accents and an alligator-pattern calfskin with an 18K beige gold folding clasp. The boldness of the red matched with the transparency of the case makes an incredibly bold statement. So purchasing this as a Valentine’s present for yourself is certainly a grand declaration of love for yourself!

The Chanel Boy•Friend Skeleton Red Edition

The simpler yet more expensive Boy•Friend Skeleton Red has a warm 18K beige gold case set with 38 baguette-cut rubies. Moreover, it is presented on a red alligator-pattern calfskin with an 18K beige gold folding clasp set with 23 baguette-cut rubies.

The Chanel Boy•Friend Skeleton Red Edition ($149,700) and Boy•Friend Skeleton X-RAY Red Edition ($89,800) are limited to 55 and 100 pieces, respectively.