In 2022, Chanel revealed the names of three make-up artists who would mark a brand new magnificence chapter for the home: Ammy Drammeh, Cécile Paravina and Valentina Li. Collectively, they kind the Cometes Collective, a trio of rising and visionary abilities assembled to ‘breathe new life into the Chanel artwork of make-up’ with work that may be ‘written within the current whereas paying homage to the previous.’
Between Drammeh, who lives in London and was tapped as one to observe by the British Trend Council’s New Wave Creatives listing in 2019, the Paris-based Paravina (she studied on the Royal Academy of Tremendous Arts in Antwerp and counts Serge Lutens as certainly one of her mentors) and the Chinese language-born Li – fluent in 4 languages and a part of the BoF 500, her signature electrical blue bob displays the eclecticism she brings to Chanel – 2024 has been a standout 12 months for the Cometes Collective
With 4 limited-edition, seasonal collections, every has demonstrated a fearlessness in the case of utilizing unconventional color and texture, whether or not that be a matte eyeshadow palette in mustard yellow, avocado inexperienced and lilac or a dewy highlighter balm impressed by the looks of a jellyfish. Right here, the Cometes Collective displays on the previous 12 months in dialog with Wallpaper’s magnificence editor, Hannah Tindle.
Chanel’s Cometes Collective: Wallpaper* in dialog with Ammy Drammeh, Cécile Paravina and Valentina Li
The Chanel spring 2024 make-up assortment by Valentina Li
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
The Chanel spring 2024 make-up assortment by Valentina Li in progress
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
Wallpaper*: How lengthy is the interval between the thought for a group and what we see upon its launch?
Ammy Drammeh: All of the collections we’ve finished this 12 months have been two years within the making. So it felt like a really lengthy being pregnant!
Cécile Paravina: That’s precisely it! So it’s nice if you lastly see folks’s reactions. Since you kind of ‘get used to’ what you’ve labored on, virtually, as a result of size of time the collections take to create. It’s unusual to have this latency. However when a group launches and also you obtain suggestions and individuals are so excited, it reminds you once more.
Ammy Drammeh: My summer time assortment ‘Jardin Imaginaire’ had plenty of shiny inexperienced in it. I had no thought, in fact, that summer time 2024 was going to be dominated by the color [Brat green].
The Chanel summer time 2024 make-up assortment by Ammy Drammeh
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
W*: Every assortment attracts from a broad pool of references. How do you arrive at a selected theme?
AD: Step one is deciding who’s going to take which season; Valentina will do spring and vacation, I’ll do summer time, Cécile will do autumn and so forth. Then every of us has a really completely different method to working.
Valentina Li: Sure, precisely. I feel after I obtained the transient for a spring assortment, I had a really clear thought in my thoughts. I like to inform a narrative with my work, so I virtually created ‘characters’ in my head while referring to completely different species of marine life. So the Chanel Rouge Coco Baume within the shade ‘Anémone’ was impressed by a tiger fish. And the Baume Essentiel in ‘Mermaid Glow’, a jellyfish. This manner of working helps me to work out the feel of merchandise, too.
The Chanel autumn/winter 2024 make-up assortment by Cécile Paravina
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
The Chanel autumn/winter 2024 make-up assortment by Cécile Paravina in progress
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
CP: There are two key collections I labored on for 2024: the autumn/winter ‘Clairvoyance’ assortment and likewise a rework of the everlasting Ombre Essentielle eyeshadows and liners. When it comes to my start line for ‘Clairvoyance’, I went to Patrimony, at 18, Place Vendôme in Paris, the place you may go to do analysis if you work at Chanel. The historians and archivists who work there have such an enormous information of the home they will go into excessive element. This was how I found that Gabrielle Chanel was very a lot into astrology and the divinatory arts. And I used to be so pleased when I discovered this out, so I might centre the gathering across the color purple, which to me emphasises one thing non secular.
AD: I at all times begin with color. However then, like Cecile, I needed to verify it had a connection to Gabrielle Chanel. She liked ballet and theatre and one of many gadgets in her residence was a replica of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night time’s Dream. And that is the place the thought of a ‘fairy story’ backyard got here from for ‘Jardin Imaginaire’.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
W*: What’s the collaborative course of like in the case of the technical points of realising a group?
CP: You discover ways to work with the biochemists at Chanel very intently. After all, you’ve got about 1% of the technical information they’ve, nevertheless it’s necessary to coach your self on what occurs within the lab so you may talk your thought and remember of what’s achievable and what isn’t.
VL: I truly purchased a guide on make-up and chemistry to try to get my head round the way it all works. It’s tremendous obscure however was nonetheless fairly useful in the long run.
W*: And the way do you’re employed collaboratively collectively?
CP: After a sure level of working collectively, we started to naturally bounce concepts off each other. So we’d present one another the color palettes we had been engaged on for instance. On this very natural means, the ‘collective’ actually got here to life.
AD: Working collectively is among the greatest components of what we do at Chanel. All of us have alternative ways of doing make-up and so completely different wants for all the merchandise we create. It’s necessary to mix all of this in our collections, in a means.
Valentina Li sketching designs for her Chanel make-up assortment
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
W*: What are among the standout merchandise from the collections you’ve made in 2024? And, additionally merchandise from the everlasting make-up providing from Chanel?
CP: I just like the Quatres Ombres palette in ‘Divination’ from the autumn/winter assortment. I feel the colors haven’t been seen at Chanel earlier than. They’re fairly experimental and sudden, so I used to be at first a little bit involved that they’d be tough to make use of. However in the long run, I noticed so many appears that individuals had created utilizing the palette on social media and I used to be so pleased I caught with the thought. I additionally love the Ombre Essentielle solo eyeshadow in ‘Jade Facetté’.
When it comes to hero merchandise, there’s one I like: Rouge Duo Extremely Tenue. It’s a duo-ended lipstick that has color on one aspect and a gloss on the opposite. It’s very waterproof and long-wearing. I additionally liked Ammy’s Stylo Ombre et Contour eyeshadow sticks: the inexperienced ‘Dream Leaf’ and orange ‘Atardecer’ shades.
Valentina Li additionally designed the brand new Chanel ‘Winter Story’ 2024 assortment which launched this month (November)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Chanel)
VL: I like Ammy’s Stylo Ombre et Contour sticks too. I’m a giant pearl and glitter fan. The feel of all of them is so clean. In two swipes you get an ideal payoff and may simply simply mix them out together with your finger. From my spring assortment, I’d should say the ‘Rivage’ and ‘Coral Treasure’ Quatres Ombres palettes. Additionally the Baume Essentiel in ‘Mermaid Glow’. Baume Essentiel is certainly one of my favorite hero merchandise.
AD: I additionally love your ‘Rivage’ Quatre Ombres palette, Valentina. I feel it’s the actual shade of blue that you just used; a pearly, delicate blue. From my assortment, I like the blush and highlighter duos in ‘Gentle and Berry’ and ‘Gold and Peach’. The shades are very common and the textures are really easy that they will even be utilized with a basis brush.
W*: What does 2025 maintain for the Cometes Collective?
CP: It’s a secret at this level!
VL: Sure! So we will’t reveal something particular, but. However we’re engaged on some actually thrilling and playful initiatives. We do plenty of make-up for exhibits and campaigns, too, so I’m trying ahead to that.
AD: For me, I’m simply as excited to see Valentina and Cecile’s collections launch 2025 as I’m my very own.
VL: Sure, me too. I feel 2025 goes to be a tremendous 12 months.
chanel.com
Supply: Wallpaper
