Cara, Pharrell and a 7-year-old Chanel muse take to the catwalk
Karl Largerfeld has a penchant for far-flung destinations. From Cuba to Mumbai and Dallas to Dubai, Kaiser Karl's best Chanel show destinations have become a key facet of each collection. For its 2017 Métiers d’Art presentation on Tuesday, December 6, Largerfeld surprised us all and decided to take Chanel home, by holding it at the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
While its latest outing was less nomadic, it was certainly no less of a spectacle. Here are five things you need to know about the Chanel pre-fall 2017 show:
1. The storied venue: The newly renovated Ritz Paris, opening its doors after four years of renovations, was the venue of choice. Chanel fans will appreciate the storied significance of the hotel as the place where Coco Chanel took up residence for 30-something years. The collection also paid homage to Coco through classic Chanel tweed bouclé jackets and strings of vintage-style pearls.
2. The celeb-heavy model casting Cara Delevingne came out of retirement to open the show, sporting a classic ivory tweed suit with peach flowers in her hair. She was joined on the runway by some of the brand's other favourite faces, including Lily-Rose Depp (a Chanel ambassador who’s first appearance at a Chanel show was at the casino-themed couture presentation in July 2015) and Pharrell Williams (who previously starred in a Chanel campaign and short film alongside Ms. Delevingne).
3. Models-of-the-moment and mini-muses Molly Bair, Lineisy Montero, Soo Joo Park, Natalie Westling, Mica Arganaraz and seven-year-old Chanel regular Hudson Kroenig also walked at the show. Who’s Hudson Kroenig? For those who don’t remember, Hudson is the adorable little boy who walked with his dad, Brad Kroenig – one of Lagerfeld’s long-standing muses-in the Chanel SS 2011 show.
4. The all-important performance This season, Willow Smith performed live, strumming a guitar and huskily singing November 9th, a poignant ballad that she reportedly wrote after the presidential election.
5. The perfectly Parisian collection Chanel's classic bouclé jackets came in waist-defining silhouettes, embellished with pearls, tweed roses, floral embroidery and Plexiglass buttons. While the lavish gowns were certainly befitting their opulent surroundings, there were some über-modern pieces too - destined for the street style set - including hot pink over-the-knee boots, leather flares and puffa jackets.
