Exclusive: behind the scenes with Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel haute couture shoot – in pictures

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  Models were sent down the runway with a tower of curls piled high on their heads, secured with oversized grosgrain hairbands. Olivier Saillant

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  The make-up – a look that was part porcelain doll, part Marie Antoinette – consisted of dark liner smudged into triangles beneath the eyes, coupled with triangular lashes and the lightest dab of rosy blush on the cheeks. Olivier Saillant

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  Lagerfeld insists on shooting all of the media and advertising campaigns for each of the brands he works with. Olivier Saillant

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  For the runway presentation of his latest haute couture creations, Lagerfeld, transformed Paris’s Grand Palais into an haute couture atelier, to highlight the skill, craftsmanship and people behind each of his outfits. Olivier Saillant

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  The season’s silhouette was ultra-sleek, with a strong, clean shoulder line on many of the pieces. Olivier Saillant

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  Bevelled or angular cut, often with an extreme taper or single sharp angle (but never any padding), the shoulder line was a unifying element of the show. Olivier Saillant

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  For evening wear, Lagerfeld took his cues from 19th-century English author and illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. Beardsley’s signature black-and-white illustrations, always set against a white background, were translated into high waists, voluminous cuts, intricate embroidery and beading. Olivier Saillant

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  There were feathers protruding from shoulders and hems, and skirts that flared out dramatically over soft cages Karl Lagerfeld

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  Trousers, or culottes, which widened through the leg to a cropped hem, were also the order of the day, and were paired with jackets of varying shapes and lengths to create a new, ultra-wearable Chanel suit. Karl Lagerfeld

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  More than 120 seamstresses – including premières from the Chanel ateliers on the famed Rue Cambon – formed the backdrop to the runway show, and were seen surrounded by the tools of their traditionally secretive trade: sewing machines, mirrors, pins, fabrics, multicoloured threads, toiles and mannequins. Olivier Saillant

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  “I thought that was a modern idea to make them [the seamstresses] participate. They should be shown, too,” said Lagerfeld after the show. Olivier Saillant

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Lagerfeld shooting Chanel’s autumn/winter haute couture 2016/17 collection, we see the fashion icon capturing key outfits from the collection, and also witness how these looks come together.