There are fashion shows, and then there are Chanel fashion shows. The late Karl Lagerfeld dreamt up some of the most theatrical sets ever seen, from a Chanel supermarket to an iceberg, and even a beach.
The house has continued this tradition (albeit in a more restrained manner); for the Autumn 2024 Couture show, the Palais Garnier's hallways were cloaked in velvet (to reflect the opera house's scarlet boxes), and for Spring/Summer 2020, the runway was transformed into Parisian rooftops. There have also been notable performances from the likes of Lily Allen and Florence Welch.
While we wait to see what Chanel will magic up for the Spring/Summer 2025 show this Paris Fashion Week, let's take a petit tour down fashion memory lane for some of the most magical moments in Chanel's catwalk history.
Tweed, Autumn/Winter 2022
Chanel and tweed are enduring bedfellows, and this collection was no different. Former Creative Director Virginie Viard covered the walls and benches of the show space in the signature fabric, which also featured heavily in the collection itself. Chic.
The Chanel Sign, Spring/Summer 2021
For the Spring/Summer '21 show, the Hollywood sign was Chanel-ified, with a giant, lit-up version of the familiar logo. It towered above the models and provided a striking backdrop.
River Seine, Autumn/Winter 2020
Models appeared to walked on water at Chanel's Autumn/Winter 2020 show, with a runway made to look like Paris's famous River Seine – complete with winding 'banks'. Fittingly, the collection was inspired by pirates (in the chicest way of course), featuring cavalier boots, ruffle-front shirts and double-breasted tweed jackets.
Paris Rooftops, Spring/Summer 2020
Paris's iconic rooftops – specifically, those zinc-lined ones of the Rue Cambon – were the runway for Spring/Summer 2020. For those with vertigo, fear not; it was all a beautifully built set.
Coco's Apartment, Métiers D'art 2019
Virginie Viard teamed up with Sofia Coppola to transform Le Grand Palais into Gabriella 'Coco' Chanel's famous apartment, with a mirror-lined staircase at the top of the runway. On the catwalk, birdcage bags referenced the iconic designer's decor.
Library, Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2019
Bookish fashion fans were delighted to find themselves in a Chanel library when they stepped into Le Grand Palais for the house's Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2019 show – Virginie Viard's first show after Karl Lagerfeld's death.
Villa Chanel, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2019
An entire villa – including an elaborate staircase and crystal-blue pool – was erected within Le Grand Palais for Chanel's couture show. The looks themselves were aptly decadent, with full-skirted gowns calling to mind the lavish wardrobe of one Ms Marie Antoinette.
Beach, Spring/Summer 2019
Possibly one of the most ambitious Chanel sets to date, Spring/Summer 2019's show took place on a specially-created beach, with sand, water and huts. There were even Chanel-clad lifeguards keeping watch over proceedings. Models walked barefoot, shoes in-hand.
Woodland, Autumn/Winter 2018
Lagerfeld loved bringing the outside in for many of Chanel's history-making shows, and Autumn/Winter 2018 was no different. Le Grand Palais was turned into a forest, with real trees lining the runway – and leaves heaped upon it.
Waterfalls, Spring/Summer 2018
Lagerfeld brought the famous Gorges du Verdon canyon and its many waterfalls to Paris's Grand Palais for the house's Spring/Summer 2018 show. Models stayed dry in transparent bucket hats, bonnets and capes.
Eiffel Tower, Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2017
One of Paris's most iconic landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, was recreated inside Le Grand Palais, making for a breathtaking backdrop to Chanel's couture show. An artificial mist obscured its top, making it seem even more larger-than-life. The structure's flared shape inspired the silhouettes of the dresses and coats on the catwalk.
Space Shuttle, Autumn/Winter 2017
For this show, Chanel went where no other fashion house has been before and created a whole space shuttle, which actually lifted off during the show's finale (to the sound of Elton John's 'Rocket Man', no less). The collection was suitably galactic – lots of metallics and some very memorable glitter boots.
Data Centre, Spring/Summer 2017
The IT crowd has never looked so chic. For Spring/Summer 2017, Lagerfeld reimagined the insides of a data centre, lining the runways with computer servers – and filling them with models wearing robot-like headgear and carrying accessories featuring light-up text.
Atelier, Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2016
Lagerfeld paid homage to 'les petites mains' – aka 'the little hands' – in the Chanel ateliers by turning the runway into a studio. Seamstresses and technicians continued walking as models showcased the couture collection.
Eco House, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2016
It was day three of Couture fashion week in Paris and all eyes were on a large wooden structure placed in an 'eco-zone' (read green plants and lawns aplenty) in the historic Grand Palais. The set was built from timber and came with a personal guarantee from Karl that the whole thing would be recycled following the show.
Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Lindsey Wixson strolled over walkways among orchards and lawns before lining up on a huge wooden structure that looked like a modernist 21st-century take on a dolls house.
Casino, Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2015
There was Kristen Stewart rolling the dice, there was Julianne Moore playing roulette, not to mention Rita Ora, Lara Stone and Vanessa Paradis doing their best poker faces – all wearing outfits specially designed for them by Karl. Yes, it could only be a giant casino, staged for the Autumn/Winter 2015 couture show in Paris, specially constructed with tables in the centre for the models to walk round as the A-list played.
Protest, Spring/Summer 2015
Karl's take on sixties street protests came with a feminist update and a whole heap of controversy. He took Emma Watson's History is Her Story UN campaign and ran with it, even designing bags around it. We never thought we'd see Jamie Bochert rallying the troops or Charlottes Free brandishing a Free Freedom placard either. But that's fashion for you.
Futuristic Flowers, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2015
Monsieur Karl even commanded flowers to grow – mechanical ones, that is. For Spring/Summer's 2015's couture extravaganza, 300 computerised 3-D flowers adorned the set. They were sprinkled with water from a (Chanel-monogrammed, naturally) watering can and kicked off the show by bursting into life. A Chanel-branded garden – paradise, non?
Supermarket, Autumn/Winter 2014
The notion of disposable fashion was clearly top of mind for Karl when he transformed the Grand Palais into a giant, totally true-to-life supermarket – complete with Chanel-branded crisps, cereal and a whole DIY aisle of plastic hard hats and chainsaws. There were even plastic trolleys dotted about. Oh, how we wished we could heap one high with bags and shoes and make a run for it.
Globe, Autumn/Winter 2013
In a jaw-dropping illustration of the sheer global scale of the Chanel powerhouse, models stalked round a circular set featuring a huge spinning globe, with lit-up flags bearing a sparkly double-C, marking every spot where the brand has a boutique – stretching from Hawaii to Japan.
Paris-Dallas, Métiers d'art 2013
Held in the historic Fair Park in Texas, the set was a specially built drive-in movie theatre, complete with restored vintage cars parked in front of giant movie screens showing a short film by Lagerfeld, starring Geraldine Chaplin as a Fifties-era Coco Chanel. The clothes? Wild West-inspired prairie blouses and cowboy boots, of course. The after-party? in a custom-built saloon, complete with mechanical bucking bronco.
Under the Sea, Spring/Summer 2012
Nine minutes into Chanel’s aquatic-themed Spring/Summer 2012 show, a giant shell opened to reveal Florence Welch singing her aptly named song, ‘What the Water Gave Me.’ Supersized coral, shells and sea horses gave the show an otherworldly feel.
Linlithgow Castle, Métiers d'art 2012
Lagerfeld mined Coco Chanel's lesser-known Celtic connections for this eerily beautiful show, held at Linlithgow Palace, just outside Edinburgh, where Mary Queen of Scots was born centuries earlier. Guests were seated in the ice-cold December open air, in the ruins of the great hall and chapel. For guests, tartan Chanel blankets were provided for protection against the snow flurries. Stella Tennant et al stalked the flame-lit scene wearing kilts, tartans, and Argyle knits.
Aircraft, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2012
Indulging in even more blue-sky thinking than usual, Lagerfeld took the fash pack on a Couture jet set trip with a recreation of an aircraft's interior – models wearing every shade of blue strutted down the central aisle, while outside the clear domed roof, the 'Earth' passed into view. Far out.
Ice Caps, Autumn/Winter 2011
The tonnes of ice specially transported from Scandinavia to build the iceberg set were the talk of Paris – applauded by some as a timely comment on global warming, while others wondered how shipping a small sea's worth of water to another country for a show could possibly be eco. Either way, the collection itself was enough to keep us warm through any apocalyptic emergency – models dressed up like polar bears in Chewbacca shaggy faux-fur, snow boots and bags shaped like ice cubes. Brrrrr.
Golden Lion, Haute Couture Autumn 2010
In reference to Coco Chanel's star sign, Karl decided that the accompaniment for his winter 2010 couture outing had to be a monumental bronzed lion, standing forty feet high and weighing eight tonnes. He towered over the models, who looked like something from Alice in Wonderland as they walked around his giant paws. Male model Baptiste Giabiconi walked alongside the finale dress wearing a lion head, complete with mane.
The Barn, Spring/Summer 2010
The show was a rollicking roll in a Chanel-branded farmyard, complete with hay bales and romping milkmaids in crochet, flower-appliquéd bags and clogs. And that was fab enough. But how we (and not to mention Prince and Rihanna, both sitting front row) sat up and took notice when Lily Allen rose through the floor in her very own mini barn, and sang 'It's Not Fair' live, accompanied by a band and some models roped in as backing singers – all head-to-toe in Chanel, of course.
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