A Culmination

The sets at Chanel shows tell the story of the season as much as the clothes themselves. This FW 16 we see Karl Lagerfeld go back to the ideological roots of Coco Chanel and her approach to style.

- Gordon NG

There’s an ironic twist when the Grand Palais, in all its resplendent opportunities for scale and spectacle, is pulled back down to earth to recreate the intimacy of the couture salons of 31 Rue Cambon. This season, Karl Lagerfeld has opted to recapture the intimacy and exclusivity of a Chanel experience – hence the #frontrowonly name of Fall/Winter’s runway show. Seats were arranged so every member of the audience had the privilege of saying they sat front row on gold seats at Chanel. It can be read into as a reaction against the democratisation of fashion and the erosion of elitism. Here was Chanel flexing its financial muscle to say that yes, it can afford to combine the impressions of opening up the floor while maintaining its authority.

If you have the opportunity, get your hands on a copy of Chanel Catwalk, published by Thames & Hudson. The tome is a beautifully wrought overview of Lagerfeld’s history at the brand, charting his debut collection in the Spring of 1983 to the most recent Seoul collection. It’s a great look at what makes Lagerfeld’s version of Chanel work, and a telling ode to the disappearing number of creative geniuses like himself. What it also is, is a great contextual companion to better understand the ideas behind the clothes at FW16. I’ll break it down for you, anyway.