Chanel Pushes The Ship Out With An Ambitious Show

May 5, 2018
2 min read

Who knew the next time we'd see a Titanic-style cruise liner — post-'90s — it'd be at Chanel's resort 2019 show? Creative director Karl Lagerfeld really outdid himself this season when he built a marina inside the Grand Palais to show his latest for the French maison. So far, we've seen a rocket ship, a sea of icebergs, an Eiffel Tower replica, a supermarket, a carousel, a waterfall, and more play centerpiece to Chanel's elaborate fashion shows. But a life-sized cruise ship (né La Pausa) docked in the middle of Paris takes the cake. Er, croissant.

“We wanted to set sail, to take you on an actual cruise,” shrugged Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s president of fashion, before the show on Thursday night. “We worked on a plan for two years, but to find the perfect boat proved impossible.” The replica boat, named La Pausa after Chanel’s villa in the Cote d’Azur, took a month to install inside the Grand Palais, detailed down to the sound of creaking ropes and distant seagulls, and was the backdrop for clothes that revived the Chanel of a Breton stripe-wearing Coco on holiday. Cream ribbed sweaters had anchor-stamped gold buttons and wide white trousers were worn with deck-friendly flat shoes. Evening dresses were bugle beaded, while the house tweed suit turned up with a skater-shaped skirt and cropped jacket. City black was swapped for sea blues and candy stripes. The mood was Coco at Deauville, with a dash of Duran Duran’s Rio. After a show featuring 80 outfits, all 900 guests were invited onto the upper and observation decks for champagne, Negroni cocktails, seafood and truffle chips.

Though the show's set design was less inspired by the James Cameron flick than it was Coco Chanel's villa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, the collection itself carried just as much oomph as the vessel you're seeing not sailing the Atlantic but all over Instagram. Chanel staples were in full swing: pearl necklaces, tweed suiting in all of its changing silhouettes, statement accessories with a twist, and, of course, the Hadid sisters. But there were some new elements and faces to see, too, like the micro-midriff, the brand's more demure version of baring navel, French navy hats replete with signature red pom-poms, distressed denim, and, oh, Adut Akech, the latest South Sudan newcomer who opened the show and its finale. The show was literally a brief of the most powerful names in the fashion industry!

As most of Lagerfeld's homages to Coco go, he doesn't mince details when it comes to reviving and revamping key elements of her personal style and legacy. He's designed nautical-themed collections before, after all — see: the pre-fall 2018 collection in his native Hamburg from not too long ago — but none quite as detailed as Thursday's show. There's a lot to take in, but be sure to zoom in on the more literal details to catch things like lunchbox-style handbags and miniature lifesaver necklaces. All aboard! Next stop: an iceberg. (Too soon?)