Fed-up Mancunians DEFY orders to not disrupt Chanel’s Metiers d’Art fashion show: Locals belt out karaoke and hold protest rally yards from the outdoor catwalk that forced roads to close during A-list event they were banned from watching from balconies

Grief-weary Mancunians defied police orders not to interrupt Chanel’s fashion show tonight, holding a pro-Palestinian rally outside the highly anticipated catwalk and rocking karaoke in nearby pubs.

Famous faces from around the world flocked to the unassuming street in the city’s Northern Quarter, despite a furious outcry from residents and local businesses.

The French fashion house asked residents of Thomas Street, which has been closed for about a month, to dim the lights and avoid walking on balconies as models strutted down the catwalk.

But as celebrities gathered under a temporary tent for the glitzy event, just meters away protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and waved flags calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A few steps away at the nearby Millstone Pub, punters dressed in Father Christmas hats gathered and ripped off the Lady in Red, pouring out pints of beer.

Others mocked the show for choosing the UK’s rainiest city for the Métiers d’Art Christmas show, with one writing on social media: “Manchester is also inevitably experiencing biblical rain during this event.”

Another added: “Nice to see the weather in Manchester is bringing Chanel real happiness with pouring rain.” Although it is December, this is not surprising.

As the party started at the Victoria Baths on the other side of town, neighbors gathered in the street, with one woman in a dressing gown reportedly shouting: “What the hell is going on?”

There was a huge police presence around the party as darkened cars pulled up carrying the likes of Hugh Grant and Olivia Atwood.

Grant, who was taking a break from a promotional tour for his latest film Wonka, attended the event with his glamorous wife Anna Elisabeth Eberstein.

Celebrity regulars at Metiers d’Art in recent years have included Pharrell Williams, Lily-Rose Depp and Kristen Stewart, who was previously photographed in Manchester.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the Beckhams were among the fashion icons also expected at the evening event, which had several hiccups in the lead-up.

Thomas Street has been closed to local residents for more than a month and access to other nearby roads, between Nicholas Croft and Copperas Street, was closed today.

The location and details of the Métiers d’Art runway have been kept a closely guarded secret, but dozens of boxes bearing the exhibition’s name were spotted in the same area earlier this month, according to local media.

Business owners on the street have expressed concerns about profits after Chanel paid them to close for the day, but they fear the refunds will not cover the losses they will suffer from missing the day’s custom.

Entrepreneurs in the immediate vicinity signed non-disclosure agreements so that they could not talk about the event.

One business, a sex shop on Thomas Street, also took the opportunity to mercilessly mock Chanel and one of the show’s alleged contestants, Kim Kardashian, by joking that they were storing the infamous sex tape she made with her ex-boyfriend.

Yesterday, as Chanel received backlash, one resident said: “We were told not to go out on the balconies and keep the curtains closed during the show.” It went something like this: “We strongly recommend that you do not go out onto the balcony or, if the lights are on in your home, that you close the curtain.”

He said he started receiving emails about the fashion show about three weeks ago.

“We received several letters that were like a drip of information because they wanted to keep it secret, even though everyone knows it’s a Chanel show,” he added.

The letters, he said, included dates for events and warned residents that the area would become “very active” from Monday, December 4.

When asked about the Thomas Street transformation, he said: “Basically, a lot of money has been spent on the glorified canopy.

“If they give it up, it will be very good for business in the winter, and if there is heating and all that, it will be great.” I feel like it’s overzealous, but it’s great that it’s not happening in London or something like that.”

The manager of a bar in the nearby High Street said footfall at the bar had fallen as people assumed businesses in the area were closed in the lead-up to the event.

He said: “It looks closed unless you come from Edge Street. We had to change the entrance. On Saturday (December 3), I would say we lost a couple of grand.”

The manager said the business had been compensated for the days it was ordered to close (Wednesday and Thursday), but he feared the amount provided may not cover the total losses incurred.

Just a few doors down from the runway, sex shop Love Boutique hung a poster on its front door mocking Kim Kardashian’s 2007 sex tape.

The sign reads: “Homemade Kim Card DVD for sale here. Can you resist anything other than temptation?

“With the support of Chanel. The parrot, not the brand,” is a reference to a viral 2020 video in which an African gray parrot named Chanel went missing and her owner desperately asked for her to come back.

The store window advertises a wide selection of “lotions,” “potions,” and “poppers.”

The Chanel show, which has previously been held in “fashion capitals” such as London and Paris, is being held in Manchester this year due to its cultural connections.

Chanel’s website describes the northwest city as “one of pop culture’s most vibrant cities and an avant-garde city whose genre-spanning bands have changed music history.”

The post-event party will take place at the town’s Victorian Baths.