Chanel Goes West With the Return of Its Ephemeral Boutique in Aspen

It’s been an unusual winter in Aspen. The precipitation is the same as usual—or so insists every local limo driver, bartender, maître d’, and ski instructor. But there have only been a few big storms instead of the steady snowfall that has made this small, picturesque resort town nestled in the Rocky Mountains a premiere American skiing destination. One of those storms happened to materialize on Sunday night, wreaking havoc on spring break travel plans–and providing near-perfect conditions for the official celebration of Chanel’s first ephemeral boutique in two years.

Temperatures crept up toward fifty degrees on Monday night as a criss-crossed-Chanel-top-wearing Camila Morrone made her way into East Hyman Avenue’s historic Benton Building, which currently houses the most-anticipated retail event on the downtown strip: Gucci, Prada, and—as of this Winter—Balenciaga, are catty corner in either direction on Galena street, but since it opened its doors in February, Chanel’s limited-run pop up, which will close in April, has been the talk of the town.

The shoe wall alone captivated guests including Tommy Dorfman and model Phoebe Tonkin, who chatted about the selection of weather-ready shearling- and tweed-accented boots, as well as choice items from Chanel Coco Neige, the French house’s incredible collection of winter sports essentials and accessories (think: quilted, belted snow bibs and colorful double-C logo knitwear sets). Up the flight of narrow steps, artist Chloe Wise perused a cropped sweater from Chanel’s cruise 2021/22 collection, while Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Havana Rose Liu gathered on the mezzanine level where the brand’s J12 watches in black or white ceramic are displayed alongside selections from the Camélia and Coco Crush fine jewelry lines as well as oversized bottles of Chanel No.5 in honor of the iconic fragrance’s 100th anniversary.

You could just about go without a jacket on the three-block walk to dinner at Casa Tua, the Colorado outpost of Miky Grendene’s Miami hotspot that hosted a redux of Chanel’s “Paris-Dallas” Métiers d’Art collection in 2014. As family style plates of Italian specialities were served, Ivan Pol sipped on a Ferrari, the celebrity facialist’s go-to cocktail featuring a mix of Fernet and Campari. Pol was on hand to treat Chanel ambassadors and Very Important Customers (VICs) to his signature facial, The Beauty Sandwich—which layers advanced radiofrequency technology and, most recently, an application of No.1 de Chanel’s red camellia-packed Lotion and Serum—in between activities, which included ideal spring skiing at Highland Mountain and tubing, snowshoeing, and horse-drawn sleigh rides at Kevin Costner’s Dunbar Ranch. Named after Lieutenant John Dunbar, Costner’s character in Dances With Wolves, the 160-acre retreat features three standalone properties, a private lake, and sweeping views. Costner’s demanding filming schedule on the set of the series Yellowstone has kept the actor in Montana and away from his stunning property, which has prompted speculation amongst said limo drivers, bartenders, maître d’s, and ski instructors that the ranch is for sale— which could be fortuitous timing: rumors were also swirling around if and when Chanel might return in a more permanent capacity.