Karl Lagerfeld doesn't do things in halves. Which is why when his team at Chanel collaborated with Harrods, the results - unveiled today - were eye-popping to say the least. Not content with filling the entire stretch of window displays on the store's Brompton Road façade with powerful scenes of its A/W 2011 collection, featuring an enchanted bestiary and whimsical French fairy tale imagery, Chanel has put its stamp on the storefront like you would on a turreted castle, embellishing it with a series of branded flags. And that's just what you see on the outside.
Stepping inside the store, it's hard to know which part of Chanel's adventure requires attention first. On the ground floor, the brand has created a temporary 'misty garden' fashion boutique, lined with white and black walls embossed with lions' heads, and filled with every sartorial item imaginable - including the classic Harrods bag, which has been given a Chanel makeover.
Over in the beauty department, a pink make-up counter - complete with the pop-up photo booth seen in the A/W 2011 campaign and oversized Chanel perfume bottles - houses the Knightsbridge Collection, a limited-edition make-up range created by Peter Phillips, creative director of Chanel make-up.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, a dramatic 350 sq m installation, 'Une Promenade', is an Alice-in-Wonderland-style journey into the world of Coco Chanel. Visitors enter through a curtain of oversized white pearls into a monochrome camellia garden setting, where the exhibition revolves around six different rooms: the 2.55, where visitors walk into a padded creation of the brand's iconic bag to discover the production process of the bag; the tweed room, inspired by Chanel's jacket fabric of choice; an enchanted children's bedroom scene filled with dolls and toys; a Haute Couture room, reconstructed as Gabrielle Chanel's apartment at 31 rue Cambon; the library space in Lagerfeld's studio 7L, and finally a room dedicated to Chanel symbols, including its Number 5 perfume bottle.
The new windows incorporate Karl Lagerfeld's recent A/W 2011 collection for Chanel
... styled to reflect a enchanted woodland fairy tale scenes
This is the first time in Harrods history that all front-facing windows have been taken up by one brand
A theatrical mise en scène with Chanel's mythical creatures
Close-up of a smaller Chanel accessories window for Harrods
Chanel have put its stamp on the storefront like you would a turreted castle and embellished it with flags...
... and even made its mark on the bus stop outside Harrods
The Chanel's World map at an entrance-way in Harrods
The brand's has created a temporary 'misty garden' fashion boutique on the ground floor...
... lined with white and black walls embossed with lions' heads
Across the room, is Chanel's pop-up accessories stand
The infamous Harrods bag, with an added Chanel touch
The ephemeral beauty bar, lined with pink shelves and dressed with displays of Chanel perfume bottles...
... sits next to the pop-up photo booth - perfect for customers wanting to recreate the A/W 2011 campaign
The Knightsbridge Collection, created especially by Chanel make-up creative director Peter Philips
Even the lifts and lobbies have had the Chanel makeover
The pearl curtain entrance to the 'Une Promenade' exhibition on the third floor
... where a reconstruction of the monochrome camellia garden setting - featured in the Chanel S/S 2011 runway show - waits
Clusters of Chanel fine jewellery, encased in a foliage-filled display box, sit in a corner of the camellia garden
The 2.55 room - a dream for anyone wanting to live in a Chanel bag
Digital displays showing stages in the making of the iconic 2.55 bag
The large dolls house in the children's bedroom, featuring Chanel dolls created through the years
The Harrods bear, customised by Chanel - sadly, not for sale
Inside the Haute Couture room - a reconstruction of Gabrielle Chanel's apartment in 31 rue Cambon...
... featuring the swirling wall of tall mirrors seen in staircase entrance of 31 rue Cambon
An oversized version of the boxes used to package creations purchased by Haute Couture clients
Inside the tweed room - an homage to Chanel's jacket fabric of choice
The library in Karl Lagerfeld's studio 7L, reprinted as wallpaper, featuring an almost holographic Karl Lagerfeld
A larger-than-life jacket detail sits next to the heavyweight version of the 2.55
A combination of Noº5 advertisments from over the years is screened within a giant bottle in the pop art room
The Chanel flags lit up in the evening on Brompton Road
ADDRESS
Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7XL
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