ROE ETHRIDGE AT CHANEL NEXUS HALL, TOKYO

The gallery is pleased to announce Roe Ethirdge’s solo exhibition Fugue for 31 Rue Cambon: Roe Ethridge at Chanel Archives, on view at CHANEL Nexus Hall, Tokyo, from February 25, 2026. The exhibition is comprised of a series of composite image collages commissioned for the inaugural edition of CHANEL’s ARTS & CULTURE magazine, which was published in June 2025.

CHANEL has worked with American photographer Roe Ethridge over the past decade, and recently commissioned him to explore a collection of Gabrielle Chanel’s treasured possessions. The photographer was invited behind closed doors to capture objects from the Patrimoine—the House’s archive—alongside personal items from the couturière’s apartment at 31 rue Cambon, Paris.

Presented in an exhibition format for the first time, Ethridge’s photographs bring Chanel’s belongings to life. Among the objects featured is a bust of Chanel by Jacques Lipchitz; a manuscript of Poèmes pour Misia by Pierre Reverdy; a book with illustrated dedications to Chanel from Gala and Salvador Dalí; Pablo Picasso’s sketches for Le Tricorne; and an Egyptian funerary mask from the second century AD. Paired with contemporary props and photographed in a Parisian studio, the mise-en-scènes introduce a new layer to Gabrielle Chanel’s legacy.

Gabrielle Chanel’s revolutionary designs and her passionate commitment to supporting the arts placed her at the vanguard of 20th century creativity. Today, her legacy is immortalised through the places, stories, and objects of her time. Together, they embody Chanel’s visionary ideas and the friendships she nurtured with avant-garde artists. The photographs commissioned by CHANEL and on display in the accompanying exhibition at Nexus Hall extend the House’s century-long tradition of championing the leading artists of the era.