Scintillating colors and celebrities lit up a gloomy Manchester on Thursday as the British city famous for its past textile industry flaunted the latest fashion in a prestigious Chanel show.

Lashed by rain and plunged into winter darkness from 3:30 p.m., the city's gritty industrial heritage was not an obvious choice as the setting for the glitz and glamour of the French luxury group's Metiers d'Art event.

But the show proved otherwise as models strutted down the catwalk sporting dazzling bermuda shorts, mini-skirts, and eye-catching outfits under a temporary covering in a city-centre street.

Tweed suits — a quintessential British classic — pearls and camelia also captured attention.

Actor Hugh Grant, director Sofia Coppola, local football stars Ruben Dias and Luke Shaw as well as brand ambassadors Charlotte Casiraghi and Kristen Stewart were among the celebrities in attendance. 

"I loved the rock attitudes, the 60s looks," British actor Jenna Coleman told AFP.

The northern English city was a hub of the 19th-century industrial revolution, processing half of the world's cotton in 1860.

It has since reinvented itself as a center for culture and sport, home to Manchester United and Manchester City football clubs and producing music icons including The Smiths, Simply Red, Oasis, and Stone Roses.

The English National Opera will soon leave London to call Manchester home.

Chanel's creative director Virginie Viard said Manchester was the starting point for a musical culture that changed the world, inspiring her to bring the show there for its pioneering and creative spirit.

The Manchester City Council welcomed the event as a "fantastic homage" to the city and the regard for it worldwide.

"There are plenty of references to the city. Having a Chanel show here is amazing for the city," added Emma Kara, who lives in the region.