Mood board: Karl Lagerfeld crossbred Chanel's famous tweeds with sporty outwear, spawning a herd of cool looking coats for winter. Quilting morphed from mere surface interest to full-on 3D architectural details across the shoulders or chests of jackets, while capes came covered in graphic metallic tartans, creating a totally new, and very welcome, hybrid look at the house of Chanel.
Best in show: A flock of hooded anoraks came bedazzled with couture-quality embellishment, with magnificent jewel or sequin embroideries, while the finale money shot included a tweed trapeze coat that sprouted couture feathers and crystals on its lower half.
Scene setting: As usual, Chanel's set, this season titled 'Brasserie Gabrielle' knocked our socks off. Not so much for the design itself (which included the standard red leather banquets and wood boiserie panelling), but for the orchestration of this sprawling set, which saw three separate, fully-operational bars pop-up inside Paris' Grand Palais. Bow tied bartenders and aproned waiters prepared and served coffee, croissants, jus d'orange and oeufs to editors pre-show and then also kept working during the actual show when models sat down on the stools or banquets to read their copies of The International New York Times.
Photograhy: Mitchell Sams
