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

Fed-up Mancunians have defied police orders not to disrupt Chanel's fashion show tonight, holding a pro-Palestine rally outside the highly-anticipated catwalk and blaring karaoke from nearby pubs.

Famous faces from all around the world descended onto the unassuming street in the Northern Quarter of the city despite a furious uproar from residents and local businesses.

Those living on Thomas Street, which had been closed off for around a month, had been asked by the French fashion house to dim their lights not to walk on their balconies while models strutted down the runway.

But as celebrities gathered under the temporary canopy for the glitzy event, just metres away protesters chanted 'Free Palestine' and waved flags as they called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza strip.

Steps away punters gathered into the nearby Millstone Pub wearing Father Christmas hats and blasting the Lady in Red, pushing back pints. 

Others mocked the show for choosing the rainiest city in the UK for its Métiers d'Art Christmas show, with one writing on social media: 'Manchester is inevitably also experiencing a biblical rain at the event.'

Another added: 'Pleased to see the Manchester weather is delievering the real deal for Chanel: p***ing rain'. Though it be December, hardly surprising.' 

As the after-party got underway at the Victoria Baths on the other side of the city, neighbours gathered on the street, with one woman wearing a dressing gown reportedly shouting 'what the hell is going on?'.

A huge police presence was seen surrounding the party as blacked out cars carrying the likes of Hugh Grant and Olivia Atwood arrived. 

Grant, who took time away from his promotional tour of his latest film Wonka, attended the event with glamaorous wife Anna Elizabet Eberstein. 

In recent years, celebrity regulars at the Metiers d'Art have included Pharrell Williams, Lily-Rose Depp and Kristen Stewart - who was earlier snapped out and about in Manchester. 

The sons of Liam Gallagher – Lennon, 24, whose mother is Patsy Kensit, and Gene, 22, whose mother is Nicole Appleton – smoked cigarettes while sitting together inside the venue.

Actress Jennifer Coleman, 37, and model Laura Bailey 51, were both there wearing items from the designer's most recent collection. 

Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the Beckhams were among the fashion icons also expected at this evening's event, which experienced several hitches in its run-up.

Thomas Street had been closed to locals for more than a month, while access to other nearby roads, between Nicholas Croft and Copperas Street, were closed today.

The venue and details of the Métiers d'Art catwalk were kept a tightly-guarded secret - but according to local media earlier this month, dozens of boxes with the show's name emblazoned upon were seen in the same area. 

Business owners on the street expressed concerns over profit after Chanel paid them to shut for the day - but they fear the reimbursement will not cover the losses they will suffer from missing out on a day's custom.

Entrepreneurs in the immediate vicinity signed non-disclosure agreements to prevent them speaking about the event.

One business, a sex shop on Thomas Street, has also taken the opportunity to mercilessly mock Chanel and one of the show's rumoured attendees, Kim Kardashian - joking that they stock the infamous sex tape she made with her ex boyfriend.

As backlash built against Chanel yesterday, one resident said: 'We were told not to go on our balconies and to keep our curtains shut during the show. It was more or less: 'We strongly suggest you don't go on your balcony or if you have lights on in your home close the curtain.'

He said he began receiving letters about the fashion show around three weeks ago.

'We've had a handful of letters which have been like a drip feed of information because they want to keep it on the down low even though everyone knows it's a Chanel show', he added.

Within the letters he says event dates were given and residents were warned the area was set to become 'very active' from Monday, December 4. 

When asked about the transformation of Thomas Street, he said: 'It's a lot of money spent on basically a glorified canopy. 

'If they leave it up that will be really good for the businesses during winter time and if there's heating and stuff that would be great. I feel like it's a little over zealous but it's cool it's not happening in London or somewhere like that.'

A manager of a bar on nearby High Street, said they have suffered reduced footfall due to people assuming the businesses in the area are shut in the lead up to the event.

He said: 'It looks closed unless you're coming from Edge Street. We've had to change our entrance. On Saturday (December 3) I would say we were a couple of grand down.'

The manager said the business has been compensated for the days it has been told to close [Wednesday and Thursday] but worries the amount given may not cover the total losses incurred.

Just a few doors down from the runway sex shop Love Boutique put up a poster on their front door which mocks Kim Kardashian's sex tape from 2007.

The sign reads: 'Kim Kards homemade DVD sold here. Can you resist anything but temptation?

'Sponsored by Chanelle. The parrot, not the brand' - making a reference to a viral video from 2020 in which an African Grey Parrot called Chanelle went missing and her owner desperately called for her return.

The store advertises a range of 'lotions,' 'potions' and 'poppers' on the shop front.

Chanel's show, which has previously been held in 'fashion capital' cities like London and Paris, is being held in Manchester this year due to its cultural links.

The Chanel website describes the city in the north west as, 'one of the most effervescent cities of pop culture and an avant-garde one, whose bands, spanning all genres, have changed the history of music.'

The street had been specifically chosen because of its connections to the textile trade. One building recently saved from demolition had been an 18th-century weather's workshop during the Industrial Revolution. 

‘It’s certainly not known as an uber-fashionable town in the high-end way,’ Miles Lambert, curator of the new fashion section at Manchester Art Gallery, told the BBC. 

‘But it has a very vibrant street fashion, and it has lots of amazing little creative enclaves where people make things. It’s not big-scale but I guess it does feed into high-end fashion.’ 

Last year the annual show was held in Dakar, Senegal, and on other occasions it has been staged at the Château de Chenonceau in France and in Mumbai, India.