Chanel presents "high-fashion ecology" haute couture in Paris

Languid models strutting along a grass-covered catwalk in Paris on Tuesday
showed off Chanel’s ecologically-inspired haute couture collection that
avoided most of the red carpet flash.

Chanel — the fashion house that is perhaps the most synonymous with
Paris’s reputation for glamour — sent subtle, classic clothes across a
runway
outfitted with pools of water and wooden steps.

Dominating the stage was a vast wooden structure which would not reveal its
secrets until show’s end. The clothing — think “Mad Men” meets “The Great
Gatsby” — seemed to reach back to a less flashy time in fashion when
simple shapes, high-end fabric and
understated colours ruled.

A photo posted by CHANEL (@chanelofficial) on Jan 26, 2016 at 11:24am PST

“It’s not really bling-bling red carpet,” said designer Karl Lagerfeld as he
greeted fans and well-wishers in the oasis of grass, water and wood inside a
glass-roofed exhibition hall just off the Champs-Elysees.

Just six weeks after Paris hosted a historic UN climate conference where
195 nations inked a deal to tackle global warming, ecological themes were at
the fore, with wood beads, wild cotton and paper featuring in this
spring-summer collection.

“We’re in fashion and at the moment ecology is part of the expression of
our time, what fashion is supposed to be,” Lagerfeld said.
“That is a kind of, how could I say, high-fashion ecology. It means that
all can be used on a level where nobody expects it,” said the German
designer
who lives in Paris.

Mystery box

Clad in ankle-length skirts, many models wore variants of the cropped coat
Chanel has made a fashion standard. There were also shimmering beaded
numbers straight out of the roaring 1920s, some even topped with sheer
capes.

Others boasted darker hues of black, deep blue or brown, though plenty of
white, gold and even touches of red shined through. Lagerfeld’s
inspirations were wide-ranging, with the models’ long hair rolled up into a
heart-shaped, low hanging bun, and Egyptian-looking thin black lines traced
around their eyes.

Asked to explain, he whipped out his phone and showed a photo of a Picasso
sculpture that bore a striking resemblance to the models’ makeup and hair
styles. “It’s for the eyes and the hair… This was the inspiration,” he
said.

A photo posted by CHANEL (@chanelofficial) on Jan 26, 2016 at 11:07am PST

And the box? At the end of the show, the slatted wooden panels covering the
massive
wooden box at centre-stage lifted to reveal a sort of doll house containing
the models, drawing applause from the crowd.

Lagerfeld admitted to the collision of influences in the show, describing
the wooden structure as “Japanese and not Japanese.”
“I have never seen a house like this in Japan,” he said, expressing
regret
that he could never have one just like it at home.

“I love the idea of wood, I would love to have this house in my garden, but
in France you’re not allowed. You’d never get it,” he said. (Joshua
Melvin, AFP)