The celebrities, of course
The centrepiece of Chanel’s autumn/winter 2015-16 haute couture show was a piece of celebrity performance art, with about 20 famous faces at tables in the middle of the Grand Palais’s main hall. Karl Lagerfeld posed with his stars after the presentation, in what Rita Ora has dubbed “the best graduation photo ever”. Among these were long-time Chanel muse Vanessa Paradis and her 16-year-old lookalike daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, and Hollywood actresses Kirsten Stewart and Julianne Moore (pictured), who starred together in the recently released Still Alice and hugged, chatted and giggled their way through the show. Other celebrity offspring in attendance included Lily Collins, daughter of Phil Collins, and Daniel Day Lewis’s dashing son, Gabriel.
New dimensions
Chanel debuted a modern iteration of its trademark suit during last week’s presentation. The show’s opening look, a red-and midnight-blue ensemble that caught the light in captivating ways, was the first to showcase the house’s use of Selective Laser Simpering, a new technique that adds volume and three-dimensionality to this most traditional of silhouettes. Moulded and seam-free, the 3-D suits, which came in countless eye-catching variations, have all the makings of a new Chanel classic.
Sharp angles
Evening gowns featured asymmetric hemlines – longer in the back and shorter in the front, but never too short – that matched the sharp lines of the models’ tomboy bobs. The effect was most striking when paired with stiff, highly structured, dramatically tapering skirts embellished with intricate detailing.
Art deco undertones
At the other end of the spectrum were loose, softly layered cocktail dresses reminiscent of the flapper era, which were entirely in keeping with the art deco-inspired styling of the venue. These pieces also featured asymmetric hem lines but with far less dramatic lines.
