Just Cruisin'

Cruise may be a mid-season collection but Chanel doesnt do anything by halves, as Margot Robbie discovers on her maiden voyage.

- Genevra Leek

“I DON’T KNOW HOW THEY COULD POSSIBLY TOP IT, unless they build something bigger than this cruise ship,” says Margot Robbie, seemingly miniscule in a multicoloured sequinned dress as she stands next to the epically proportioned La Pausa cruise liner that’s been temporarily docked under the nave of the Grand Palais.

Chanel’s preferred Paris runway venue has been transformed into a cruise ship terminal for the duration of the Cruise 19 show, and newly crowned ambassador Robbie has fallen under the Chanel spell at her first-ever runway experience for the house. “I don’t know how it could possibly be more incredible than it’s already been!”

The actor’s awe-inspired reaction isn’t surprising. She’s not the first to be Chanel-struck after witnessing one of the brand’s all-out extravaganzas. It’s an initiation process for anyone lucky enough to have an entrée into the Parisian fashion calendar. And Robbie has been on a crash course in all things Chanelian since touching down yesterday. “I’ve had the most Chanel day ever. Honestly, I couldn’t be more immersed in the world right now. I went to the archives this morning, then to Coco Chanel’s apartment, and obviously I’m wearing Chanel and I’m at the show, it’s just a very Chanel day. And we’re in Paris, at the centre.” For a second, she’s not an in-demand producer and Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated actress, she’s the wide-eyed girl born and raised on a farm in Queensland. Chanel will do that to you.