Two weeks ago, Paris panned the premier of Ridley Scott’s biopic Napoleon. On Thursday night, Manchester embraced a street chic show by Chanel, Virginie Viard’s best so far for the house.

 
Rarely has the Entente Cordiale seemed happier in this collection which managed to blend Manchester’s gritty street culture with exuberant royal elan and sassy French chic.
Staged in the dark at 6.30 p.m,, the collection’s hues played on the late Queen Elizabeth’s palette – light lilac, bright aubergine, burnt orange and yards of strawberry and raspberry. Anything that would make it easier to stand out at 100 yards. Forget quiet luxury, even if this was a collection of great poise.
 
Chanel’s couturier opted to present the collection outside, in the open air on Thomas Street, historically the cotton trading street of Manchester, lined with three-story redbrick houses dating back to the late 19the century. The street covered with a transparent tent to protect the audience, whose front row include Chanel ambassadors, Kirsten Stewart and Sofia Coppola, the latter the director of a punchy video that blended street graphics, art house illustrations by Peter Saville and the city’s rich music tradition from New Order to Oasis.