On the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the Chanel runway is a launchpad for interstellar luxe
Reporting from Paris — Never one to shy away from an over-the-top set piece, Karl Lagerfeld turned the Grand Palais into a launchpad for the space-themed fall/winter 2017 collection he showed here March 7, complete with a towering Chanel-logo-emblazoned rocket in the center of the room.
The collection, grounded in a palette of black, white and gray, riffed on many of the elements you might expect from a Chanel-goes-to-space collection in an almost retro ’60s way with glittery silver cap-toe boots; three-quarter-length silver metallic leather coats with shearling arms and collars; metallic space-blanket shoulder wraps in the label’s signature quilting; and many looks accessorized with fingerless metallic gloves and bejeweled knit earwarmers.
The few men’s looks in the mix were accessorized with a white Chanel version of a military-style knit cap, like an astronaut might, well, wear under his or her space helmet. (The assumption here is that it’s cold out there for a stylenaut.)
A fun, floating-astronaut ‎print could be seen on a few black-and-white dresses and tops, with orbiting planet and star designs on others.
In addition to the space-shearlin‎g, the collection was on trend with puffer jackets perfect for interplanetary travel.
Our favorite space-travel-but-not-r‎eally detail was the wide, white stand-up collar on several outfits (including a houndstooth check suit and a paillette-covered black dress) that hinted at the shape of an astronaut’s spacesuit circa the Apollo program.
For the runway finale, the designer, who was accompanied by his godson, Hudson Kroenig, pushed a launch button. The rocket boosters began to spew something that looked like exhaust, and the rocket appeared to rise slowly toward the glass and ironwork ceiling of the Grand Palais while Elton John’s “Rocket Man†played on the soundtrack.
While we weren’t completely over the moon about th‎e collection (you had to know that was coming), there was plenty to like. And when it comes time to outfit the flight attendants for Virgin Galactic’s maiden voyage, we couldn’t think of a more appropriate starting point.
To the moon, Karl, to the moon!
For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn.
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