When it comes to putting on a show, nobody does it quite like Chanel. Further proof of their talent for flair and flamboyance came yesterday as Karl Lagerfeld debuted his Haute Couture A/W13-14 collection at the Grand Palais, Paris.
Celebrities turned up from all corners of the globe to watch the extravagant couture show. And as expected the star-studded affair was dripping in pearls and tweed as A-list stars pulled out their best Chanel pieces to sit front row.
Alexa Chung, Rose Byrne and Clémence Poésy all get our vote for their demure style.
Whereas Kristen Stewart knocked our socks off wearing a white tweed jacket (naturally), black cotton mini shorts, sexy point courts and managed to make 1980s throwback, fingerless gloves, very chic.
But the girl who got everyone’s tongues wagging was of course, the ever-controversial Rihanna, who attended Karl’s show wearing nothing but a long beige cardigan, lashings of pearls from Chanel’s Cruise13-14 collection and a tattoo.
THE SHOW
It appears budgets were thrown out of the window and a no holds barred approach was adopted to ensure guests were treated to a cinematic extravaganza like no other.
The Chanel team transformed the Grand Palais into a deserted theatre, rundown and beautifully ruined. And as the ragged curtains parted, a futuristic city backdrop was revealed drawing a thousand camera phone flashes from the front row.
THE LOOKS
Erin, Joan, Lindsey and the rest of Karls’s supers clan, strode down the deteriorated catwalk to a dramatic opera soundtrack wearing a collection that looked to both the past and present.
“On the way from the Old World to the New World,” Karl said of the collection. “And fashion is the only way to make the trip.”
This season Karl brought back sparkle, working metallic threads into his iconic tweed jackets that were teamed with glittering mini-skirts embellished with mirrors and sequins – a modern take on the twinset.
Stacked silver rings, wide waist belts and second-skin suede stocking boots were the accessory champions – we’ve already started saving to snag a pair!
On the beauty frontier, strong brows were the focal point with heavily sculpted cheeks and tresses slicked into androgynous bouffant quiffs.
Once again, Karl Lagerfeld reigns.
