Designers will often try to outshine their collections from previous years with risky prints, bold colors or sky-high hair on the runway. But Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel decided to bring attention to his Chanel Haute-Couture Spring/Summer 2012 collection during Paris Fashion Week by showing it on an airplane!
The non-functional plane included a wider than average gangway for the models to walk down, illuminated numbered seats and transparent roof to reveal faux clouds above. It was quite the incredible production, as only Karl can do—complete with Chanel trolley dollies before guests boarded their flight with its destination spring/summer 2012. The jet-setting theme continued, with the show taking its momentum from the stages of an actual flight (if only every flight we got on were like this in real life).
Guests “took off” in “daylight” and the clothes that began the collection were accordingly daywear looks–simple shapes and stand-away necklines, stiff puffed sleeves and trapeze shapes or dropped waists. And while there might have been simplicity with the garments, the same rule certainly didn’t apply elsewhere among the collection. “Real hostesses would have struggled to walk in the shoes,” said Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman of the three-bar ankle strap court shoes. These hostesses, meanwhile, teamed their shoes with cockatoo hairstyles worn with long dangling earrings. The runway was filled with transparent chiffon and full length wool garments, boucle jackets, big puff sleeves and jewel buttons. Sparkly sequins and embroidered cocktail dresses to knee length took hold and as they did, the “sky” above turned into darkness to signal this was the eveningwear chapter.
“The shapes were very simple and nothing was ornate apart from the detail on the fabrics,” said Shulman. As expected, Lagerfeld presented an outstanding show, leaving guests more than pleased to have flown Chanel Airways!