Girls Aloud

ROCK 'N' ROLL! FOOTBALL! A GOOD DOSE OF CLASSIC BRITISH PREP! CHANEL DRAWS FROM THE ROLLICKING CITY OF MANCHESTER TO PRESENT ONE OF ITS MOST YOUTHFUL METIERS D'ART COLLECTIONS YET, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT DIALS DOWN ON THE TIME-HONOURED LABOUR-INTENSIVE SAVOIR FAIRE THAT THIS ANNUAL SHOWCASE IS ALL ABOUT KENG YANG SHUEN GOES IN FOR AN EXCLUSIVE CLOSE-UP LOOK AT HOW THE MAISON SCORES ON CRAFTSMANSHIP THIS TIME.

Introduced in 2002, Chanel's annual Metiers d'Art - or MDA for short-showcase spotlights the savoir-faire of the speciality ateliers owned by the maison. (In fact, so committed is it to preserving these workshops, which span the feted embroidery studios Lesage and Montex to the shoemaker Massaro, that it even set up a state-of-the-art hub named Le19M near Paris two years ago to house II of them). Making this highly anticipated collection even more romantic? Each year, Chanel picks a different city with a connection to the house for inspiration as well as to stage a mega show in.

Its latest destination of choice: Manchester - the British metropolis that built its fortunes on the textile trade; boasts a colourful past of social reform; and spawned iconic bands such as The Smiths and Joy Division as well as two of the world's most famous football clubs, Gabrielle Chanel herself worked with British textile manufacturers from the early days of her business, while her long-term paramour, the second Duke of Westminster, owned a country house in Eaton Hall, about an hour's drive outside the city.