At Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld transformed the vast Grand Palais into an extra large version of the interior of the real Chanel haute couture salon. In a move to make the larger-than-life fashion experience more intimate, he decided that he would allow only one kind of seat at the show — a front row seat.
And what a delight it was for every single guest to be within inches of each of the staggering 93 looks that the iconic designer sent down his endless zigzagging runway. This plethora of clothing designed for versatility and variety looked even more tempting thanks to the up-close and personal presentation.
Guests could marvel at the impressive craftsmanship of each and every outfit: boots that were intentionally sliced in two at the ankles then laced back together, the colorful tweed skirts zippered down the sides — often left undone for a sexy panel effect — to the glossy shirts covered in Chanel emojis (i.e. images of Choupette, thumbs up, double CCs), quilted coats with shawl collars and stiff bowler hats worn low.
The audience was so close it could spot the quilted effect eyeshadow and the practical camellia-embellished handle attached to each hat. They could count the many strands of pearls wrapped around the models’ necks and almost reach out to stroke the tweed fringing on a skirt. It was tempting to try and test the sponginess of the quilted sleeved on the pink hoodie worn by Kendall Jenner. And there is no way anyone would have been able to spot that every hole of perforated knit garments was cleverly ringed in contrasting tweed, had they not been given their VIP seat.
The collection was a celebration of Chanel’s awe inspiring craftsmanship and it made for a extremely fascinating show.
