Post date: Jul 02, 2013 3:56:44 PM
In a decrepit theatre erected in Paris' Grand Palais, Chanel presents its Haute Couture collection for Autumn/Winter 2013.
PARIS, FRANCE (JULY 2, 2013) (REUTERS) - In a bombed-out theatre temporarily erected in Paris's Grand Palais, Karl Lagerfeld -- creative director of fashion giant Chanel -- revealed his vision of the future on Tuesday (July 2).
With the audience seated in old wooden theatre chairs, Lagerfeld showed off a glittery Haute Couture collection for Autumn/Winter 2013 in which models stalked across a stage and through an audience of fashion regulars and die-hard fans of the global superbrand.Actress and model Milla Jovovich was among those wowed by the extravagant set built under the soaring iron and glass atrium of the sumptuous Paris monument.
"Walking in I made a joke and said 'Karl really forgot to do the place up. It's a bit of a mess. It's a hot mess'," she told Reuters TV.
Joining her on the front row with the fashion pack was Chanel first-timer Kristen Stewart and French first lady Valerie Trierweiler.
When it came, the collection itself played with proportions. Marked by doubled short skirts and wide low-slung belts, Lagerfeld also added long columned dresses in greys, silvers and blacks and a high dose of gunmetal blue.
Chanel is perhaps the most heavily marketed label in France's pool of fashion brands, with a fiercely loyal clientele across the globe. Haute couture, in which garments are hand sewn by highly skilled artisans, is the creme de la creme of the $275 billion global luxury industry.
Lagerfeld presented a series of short, slightly A-line skirts worn over another skirt underneath.
Bold constructed shoulders found their way into boleros and Mod-influenced cropped jackets with standing collars and tight sleeves cut above the wrist.
Most dresses and suits incorporated a wide black belt that anchored the multiple layers and lengths
Surrounded by a phalanx of well-wishers onstage after the show, Lagerfeld said he hoped the collection bridged the gap between the past and the future.
"Yesterday and tomorrow. We are in between. And the good thing is that fashion has the big opportunity that it can go from the old world to the new world," he said.