Of the many Chanel symbols and icons, the feather is perhaps the most cherished by connoisseurs in the know. It comes from a lesser known part of Gabrielle Chanel’s history. Before venturing into fashion and haute couture, Chanel actually established herself in Paris, in a boutique at 21 rue Cambon, as a milliner. Her first creation that was presented to the press in 1910 was a feathered hat.
The latest Plume de Chanel collection of high jewellery pays tribute to the feather in all its lightness and supple movement. Six sets of romantic, evanescent jewels introduce a new, naturalistic silhouette, decorated with diamonds and an array of dazzling pink gemstones such as sapphires, tourmalines and diamonds.
Movement and freedom are the tenets at the heart of Plume de Chanel jewellery. It embodies, in part, the ease that Chanel introduced to the wardrobes of women with her unfettered fashion designs. “My jewellery is never detached from the idea of a woman and her dress,” she once said. “Because dresses change, jewellery, too, is evolving.”
To that end, feather jewels at the Parisian maison have always been articulated and naturalistic—ever since the very first white gold and diamond feather brooch that Chanel herself designed in 1932 for the Bijoux de Diamants high jewellery collection. This reference, though created nearly a century ago, was entirely articulated so that it would mimic the undulations and movements of a real feather. And its naturalistic style, all curves and no straight lines, meant that the jewel could adjust to and rest gracefully on the contours of the body.
The latest Plume de Chanel collection picks up from its modern reintroduction in 2010, when the late artistic director Patrice Leguéreau chose the feather as the theme for his first high jewellery collection. In 2024, the range is enhanced with ever more lightness, movement, and colour. Vogue takes a closer look at the airy pieces in the collection.
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Lightness of being
The airy aesthetic of Plume de Chanel is meant to evoke feathers flowing and fluttering in the wind. The feathers on pieces like this Plume Singulière necklace—which is transformable between a Y-necklace and a sautoir—have a lightness of being, and can be detached to be worn as a brooch.
Plume Singulière de Chanel necklace in white gold, set with a brilliant-cut 2.01-carat D FL diamond, and with diamonds.
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The Plume Singulière de Chanel necklace transformed into a Y-silhouette, and with the feather piece removed to be worn as a brooch.
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Plume Singulière de Chanel head jewel in white and pink gold, set with a pear-cut 1.50-carat DEF IF-VVS diamond, and with diamonds.
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Beauty in movement
To get closer to the supple, natural movements of feathers, Chanel has used spherical emmaillement to interlace the tips of the feathers. In essence, this spherical emmaillement is a series of rounded connections—a bit like ball joints—that gives the jewels flexible motion.
Plume de Chanel 2024 necklace in white gold, set with a pear-cut 0.78-carat DEF IF-VVS diamond, and with diamonds.
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Plume de Chanel 2024 ring in white gold, set with a pear-cut 1.03-carat DEF IF-VVS diamond, and with diamonds.
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Plume Couture de Chanel bracelet in platinum and pink gold, set with a pear-cut 2.02-carat D FL diamond, and with diamonds and pink sapphires.
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A fresh coat of pink
Softness and lightness in Plume de Chanel are not limited to just the feathers. The pink palette of coloured gemstones was carefully selected to imbue each feathered jewel with a sense of delicacy and life. Pink sapphires range from nearly diaphanous pastels to intense, fuchsia-like shades; pink tourmaline with an almost powdery softness to its shade; and even a pear-shaped 1.26-carat fancy intense purplish pink diamond set on a toi et moi ring.
Plume Couture de Chanel necklace in platinum, and white and pink gold, set with a cushion-cut 5.04-carat pink sapphire, and with diamonds and pink sapphires.
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Plume Libre de Chanel ring in white and pink gold, set with an oval-cut 6.72-carat pink sapphire, and with diamonds.
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Plume Mademoiselle de Chanel ring in white gold, set with a pear-cut 1.26-carat VVS2 Fancy Intense Purplish Pink diamond, and with diamonds.
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Plume Rose de Chanel brooch in pink gold, set with an oval-cut 8.11-carat pink tourmaline, and with diamonds and pink sapphires.
