After an orientation session in a futuristic lounge detailing some of the history of Chanel and its codes, visitors set forth through a succession of installations, starting with a vast room Bousteau described as "psychedelic," complete with pixilated camellias on the floors and 20,000 crystal prisms dotting the ceiling. The room features works by Cecchini and Michael Lin, emblematic of how Chanel sought to create synergies between artists.

Karl Lagerfeld, who selected Hadid to design the pavilion, pushed for forward-looking artists and encouraged collaborations as a way to push the creative envelope, Bousteau noted.

Fleury lined a room in leather to suggest the experience of "going into a handbag," while others created more straightforward works, including a triptych by Pierre & Gilles. Pavlovsky said the artists were given a brief to create works based on the codes of Chanel handbags, then given a tour of Coco Chanel's storied Paris apartment and of its principle handbag workshops in Verneil, where some 350 employees create quilted bags, a process involving 180 steps.

"This impressed all the artists. It's not a factory; it's more of an atelier," Bousteau explained. Indeed, Stephen Shore opted to do a series of photos in the ateliers, treating the subject "as if he were doing American landscapes," he added.

To conclude the exhibition, Ono reprised one of her participatory works, inviting visitors to write a wish on a piece of rice paper and tie it to the branches of a tree.

The pavilion is slated to stay in Hong Kong for eight weeks before traveling to Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, London, Moscow and Paris. The other participating artists are Nobuyoshi Araki, Lee Bul, Soju Tao, Leandro Erlich, Yang Fudong, Fabrice Hyber and Blue Noses.