The ballet traces the significant milestones in Chanel’s life. From her time as a cabaret singer to her postwar flight from Paris to Switzerland, Ochoa choreographed the substantial highs and the upsetting lows. The production opened with a striking image. Long fringe curtains draped along the three sides of the stage; the corps de ballet stood atop illuminated chairs, posed like mannequins in a department store. Their bodies were adorned with exquisite designs by Jérôme Kaplan, and visually communicated the legacy Chanel has left on the female silhouette. After this opening scene, we sped through the major moments of her life. We felt excitement in Deauville when Chanel opened her first store, and intrigue during the hunt for the iconic floral perfume. We even felt devastation when she lost the love of her life, Boy Capel, to a car accident. The pacing of the narrative was fast but it cleverly relied on the visual aesthetic to provide context. 

The title role was, interestingly, split into two parts: the main Chanel danced through all of these moments whilst being guided and observed by her future self, Shadow Chanel. As the slightly ominous name suggests, the alternate Chanel seemed to be the driving force behind the main version’s dubious undertakings. Kaho Kato performed Shadow Chanel with just the right amount of indifference and stoicism; she was the one who pushed her younger self to seduce Étienne Balsan, and she was also the one who led the denouncement of her Jewish business partner, Pierre Wertheimer. This has to be one of the most narratively responsible roles Kato has performed to date, and she was such a brilliant fit for the character. She also, quite aptly, balanced Neneka Yoshida’s portrayal as the main Chanel. It was wonderful to see Yoshida tackle a role with some bite. She traced Chanel’s shift from naïve singer to dubious temptress with such ease, and credit must go to her (and Ochoa) for leaning into these complexities.