Step inside Chanel's atelier for an exclusive look at the making of its SS24 Haute Couture collection

Buttons are one of the fundamental building blocks of garment construction. Yet despite this humble closure’s functional role, it emerged as the key player in Chanel’s Haute Couture spring/summer ’24 collection. Alongside tweed and camellia flowers, the button has always played a pivotal role in Chanel’s tapestry of design codes, with founder Coco Chanel finding it a liberating addition for women – a symbol of emancipation.

This season, artistic director Virginie Viard brought the button into the world of ballet with a collection featuring cascades of tulle, dancerly leotards and layered tights. “I often think about dance; it’s an important theme at Chanel,” Viard commented. “The House is close to its institutions, to its choreographers and dancers, and we create costumes for the ballet. I have tried to bring together the power and finesse of bodies and clothes in a very ethereal collection composed of tulle, ruffles, pleats and lace.”

The draperies, coquette bows, lace belts, braids and embroidery came to life in Chanel's atelier, hand-stitched meticulously by its masterful team of seamstresses. After all, what Chanel's Haute Couture clients are looking for is the ineffable wonder of handwork. And this season saw some genuinely outstanding techniques with the button at its centre.

Related: The 5 key takeaways from Chanel's SS24 haute couture show

For example, take the meticulously cut collarless black tweed coat worn by Danish model Mona Tougaard on the Paris runway. Details with braided pockets and cut to expose a glimpse of tulle, the focal point is its eight pearlescent buttons. Not to mention the watercolour cascades of tulle emerging from a long-sleeved black mini dress – punctuated with gleaming buttons – or the beadwork of a checkered tweed button-down two-piece set.