Caroline Wolewinski et Sandro della Noce, Prix Visual Merchandising décerné par CHANEL 2019

Winners of the first Visual Merchandising Prize awarded by CHANEL in 2019, Caroline Wolewinski and Sandro della Noce have created a window display project in collaboration with the feather and flower maker Lemarié, which has been part of CHANEL’s Métiers d’art since 1996.
Founded in 1880, Lemarié is one of the last ateliers in the world specialising in the art of featherwork. Echoing this unique savoir-faire and its transmission over the decades, the duo of artists was inspired by the world of tales and in particular by water, which is associated with many myths: living water and dead water, recurring elements in Slavic tales, but also the symbolism of the fountain, the source of living water that rises from the depths of the earth.
The floor, printed with a watercolour-like pattern, and the walls, covered with strips of latex, evoke the arid rocks of the Provençal Colorado, remnants of the seabed, reminding us of the preciousness of water, which is both an object of fascination for mankind and essential to its survival. At the heart of this organic decor, bouquets of feathers spring forth from metallic blue steel cylinders like fountains, metaphors for an explosion of joy.
The feathers, whether whole or transformed, have been mounted on stands by Lemarié, some of them combined with silk organza tubes. Ostrich feathers unfold like a succession of watery threads, plumetis suggests a multitude of droplets, while burnt gossamer-light feathers reinforce the impression of movement.
A true ode to the richness and modernity of Lemarié’s savoir-faire, this window display will be exhibited in a dedicated space near the former Bishop’s Palace in Toulon from June 24th to October 31st 2021.