Chanel channels golden-age Hollywood glamour
Chanel's Paris haute couture show features feathers and glittering sheath dresses
Chanel went all out for glitter in its Paris haute couture show on Tuesday that channelled the glamour of silver screen goddesses like Marlene Dietrich.
You could almost imagine the German diva air-kissing designer Karl Lagerfeld in the hall of mirrors he had built inside the Grand Palais.
The 83-year-old veteran designer sent out a fandango of feathers and glittering sheath dresses that shouted Hollywood at its dazzling 1930s zenith. No one was telling how many ostriches lost their tail feathers.
As Cecil B. DeMille used to say, you cannot pluck spectacle from thin air. Nor did Lagerfeld spare on the crystal.
But this was bling without the brassy - all in the best of taste.
As if to confirm its celluloid source, the show ended with, on Lagerfeld's arm, model Lily-Rose Depp, the daughter of film star Johnny Depp, in a pink wedding cake frill dress.
The all-white set and huge white lilies brought to mind the British interior designer Syrie Maughan. The snow-white salons she decorated when she went to Hollywood were the backdrop to some of photographer Cecil Beaton's most famous shots.
Pale and silvery hues ran through the collection and reached a crescendo with Kendall Jenner in a gown that had a ring of feathers - the ultimate dress for a Mae West entrance.
With the Jackie Kennedy movie, Jackie, a favourite for the Oscars - it has three nominations - it was inevitable there would also be a nod to one of Chanel's greatest customers.
Lagerfeld opened with a line of classic Chanel suit silhouettes that are forever linked with the late former US first lady.
However, he subtly undercut the cliche with a boucle suit with daring cutaways and glitter woven into the tweed, while others had kind of cow bell waists.
The 1950s made an appearance too with one standout crystal-incrusted tent skirt topped with pistachio tulle and others, bringing rival Dior's postwar "New Look" to mind.
Among the glitterati seated on front-row sofas was the South Korean rapper G-Dragon in a sparkly Chanel beret and earwarmers. - AFP
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