Chanel A/W 2015

Large vaulted space with a circular bar in the centre with models walking around it. Audience in the background

(Image credit: Mitchell Sams)

last updated 21 July 2022

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.

Model in a mock evening suit with white shirt and black bowtie sitting at table number 56

Two women in a wooden doorway. One wearing a black and white houndstooth jacket and skirt, and the other in a maroon jacket and skirt

Three women sitting at table 57. One in a black outfit, one in a black top with white cuffs and collar and the third in a dark red coat

Woman in a black and white waitress dress with a black bowtie sitting on a red leather seat

JJ Martin