Stéphane Ashpool Created Couture for Chanel’s Galerie du 19M

Chanel‘s Galerie du 19M is shining a spotlight on the couture creations of designer Stéphane Ashpool with a new exhibit titled “Figure Libre” that lands just ahead of the Olympics.

19M, Chanel’s hub for its métiers d’art workshops in the north of Paris, gave Ashpool carte blanche to work with its ateliers. The designer conceived a collection that unites all his influences — from the culture clash between the gritty Pigalle area where he grew up to the refinement of the Palais Garnier, which served as bookmark for this neighborhood, to his mother’s and father’s work as a ballet dancer and sculptor, respectively, plus his love of basketball and Japanese style.

Ashpool, who is also the creative mind behind France’s Olympic uniforms, spent four months working with 19M’s ateliers to craft unique pieces for the exhibit.

He worked with Maison Lesage, Maison Lemarié, Ateliers Lognon and Studio MTX on embroidery, pleating, floral appliqués, millinery and building what he called “neo-tweed,” a 3D-printed plastic exostructure woven into a traditional jacket. He used a similar structure on metal removable sleeves as well as a stole that references traditional religious garments.

“I bring a new state of mind into these houses that need to be pushed,” he said of experimenting with new materials.

In some ways, the exhibit brings his work full circle. Ashpool received mentoring at 19M as part of his Andam grand prize win back in 2015. He has long nurtured a relationship with the craftspeople there, and has been mentored by Chanel president Bruno Pavlovsky.