PFW: Chanel, ground control to Major Karl

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 7, 2017

One can never fault Karl Lagerfeld for timing. Especially this season when he launched Chanel into the outer atmosphere, as France celebrates Thomas Pesquet, the dashing French astronaut currently on board the International Space Station as part of the Proxima mission, to carry out 50 scientific experiments.
 

Staged in Grand Palais, the Chanel version of Apollo even appeared to take off at the finale – as booster rockets lifted the 30-meter high structure off the ground, as the rocket retracted into itself.
 
 "It's in the spirit of times. Chanel joining a Frenchman in outer space. Besides it's bound to be better than what we are experiencing down here," quipped Lagerfeld to FashionNetwork.com, before posing with Pharrell Williams, who last night received the French distinction, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
 

The result of the Chanel space shot was dazzling as Lagerfeld injected a hipster technological edge into lots of the house's classics. From the legendary four-pocket suit reimagined in stars-at-night shiny anthracite wool to the sleek super-heroine cocktails finished with mini capes, or coal-black galactic warrior sheathes done with white ruffles – like the Catherine de Medici style much admired by Coco. Though the look that will be the must-shoot item for leading magazines will be one of the beautiful black chiffon dresses covered in silvery images of astronauts.

 
To the strains on Kraftwerk's classic track Radioaktivität, the cast exited from a giant white landing station worthy of Buckminster Fuller, every gal carrying a clever futurist accessory, such as the speckled silver boots with black patent leather toe caps that will be huge commercial successes or the huge padded leather backpacks with bold logos. As ever, Karl kept things humorous. He even sent out Flash Gordon handbags – mini retro spaceships on silver chains; and his own preferred gloves - silver mittens finished with the double 'C' logo.

"It's not old Futurism like at Courrèges, but Futurism for today from Chanel," said Lagerfeld, himself attired in a silver jacket, after taking his bow hand-in-hand with his "grandson" Hudson Kroenig.