Chanel: the art of the fashion show, at the Grand Palais

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At each fashion week, we are excited to discover the new collections from designers, but not only that… Indeed, each haute couture house showcases its new pieces in enchanting settings, giving them a whole new dimension. And among all the fashion shows, Chanel has positioned itself as one of the most anticipated, thanks to its creations of enchanting universes.

The nave of the Grand Palais: Chanel’s playground

The fashion week shows are a total expression ground for haute couture houses. Each one uses their imagination and ingenuity to create venues that will be talked about, even beyond fashion week. These sets are thought out down to the smallest details, in order to highlight the new pieces created by the designers. A creation that is just as prestigious as the pieces themselves, and that gives rise to new vocations, like Alexandre de Betak, who is behind the creation of enchanting fashion shows for Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Jacquemus.

Between its ready-to-wear, haute couture, pre-collection, cruise, and Métiers d’Art shows, Chanel has many opportunities, during its 8 annual shows, to showcase all of its creativity. And it is under the nave of the Grand Palais that the haute couture house explores various universes, now for 16 years. These shows are among the most important and most anticipated in the world, thanks to the reputation they have built over the years.

In the span of 7 days, Stefan Lubrina, set designer, and his teams transform the blank space of the Grand Palais into an incredible world. A blank canvas that, for each show, is adorned with a new set, designed to enhance the collection. A set that reflects Chanel’s DNA and France, designed down to the smallest details to achieve realism. Perfection is required to create an unexpected set, straight out of a dream.

These extraordinary shows have a budget that has not been disclosed, but is estimated to be around 7 to 10 million euros (venue rental, set construction, models and guests, as well as all logistics…). Therefore, there is no room for error, every penny and every minute are precious. Once the set is approved in the model, the magic can happen on a large scale.

Chanel sets: the art of transporting the viewer elsewhere

Rocket launch, walk on the roofs of Paris, melting iceberg, supermarket shelves… So many extraordinary worlds recreated in 3D, in order to transport viewers to another dimension. Chanel’s fashion shows are true shows with each collection, with shows of a very high level.

Each fashion show design is studied in such a way that the runway is forgotten, and the set itself tells a story. Once they enter the Grand Palais, guests are transported as if on a movie set, forgetting the bustling Parisian life around them. Each show is a suspended bubble where, for about ten minutes, the models bring these sets to life. These sets are then shared on social media, both by VIP guests and fashion enthusiasts, giving the brand a global reach and great economic benefits.

Over the years, we have seen the models evolve on grandiose sets during the shows. Sets that revolve around a central piece, such as the giant jacket in tribute to Gabrielle Chanel, a huge copper lion, crystals emerging from the ground, a globe with all the illuminated Chanel boutiques on top, a 265-ton iceberg straight from Sweden, the hull of an immense Chanel ocean liner…

But there are also sets that highlight an entire universe, such as an artificial beach with waves, a snowy chalet, a supermarket in Chanel colors, an airport lounge, a Parisian brasserie, a French grove, a walk on the rooftops of Paris or in a recreated forest, an apocalyptic or underwater set with Florence Welsh singing from a seashell…

Each Chanel show is a real event, taking each guest out of their daily life. The recreation of reality in a movie set, where the models walk the runway in a captivating theatricality.

Chanel collections, chameleons of their sets

The Chanel show sets are always inspired by the pieces in the collections. A fabric, a pattern, an accessory, a color… The set, in addition to reflecting Chanel’s image, also reflects that of the collection and the mood it conveys. For its new Fall-Winter 2022/2023 collection, Virginie Viard returned to an iconic fabric of the Chanel house, namely Tweed. Used right side out, inside out, in total look or sparingly, this fabric also dressed the walls and floors of the Grand Palais.

With the theme of the River Tweed for its show, Chanel took inspiration from the river motif, illustrated in the collection’s films, to make it its runway. In the midst of this Tweed set, the models appeared one by one, as if coming from nowhere, from an entrance bearing the letters of the house, in the colors of the pieces.

Thus, on a sky blue carpet, the models followed the flow of the show, presenting the pieces step by step on the representation of a river. All of this accompanied by music with an atmosphere of strangeness and mystery, with touches of melancholy. A sober set, and less dizzying than some previous shows, but in perfect harmony with the films of the collection.

Chanel, a visionary in filmed fashion

Since the Covid health crisis, fashion shows have had to challenge their format. Initially deprived of an audience, the digital world allowed haute couture houses to explore new possibilities. Shows entirely live, with a few guests in person or via screens, use of green screens to extend the scope of the sets… Set designers had to rethink the essence of fashion shows. With the crisis becoming less present and restrictions easing, shows can return to their original appearance.

However, some have continued to use digital technology to give their shows another dimension. Jacquemus, for example, treated themselves to the sublime settings of Hawaii, with a beachside show for a handful of guests with their feet in the sand. The whole thing filmed with a mesmerizing drone, to share the experience with those who stayed in Paris for the local shows during fashion week.

The reinvented fashion show

For its collection, Chanel offered a show film, but not only that. Prior to the film, the haute couture house built the atmosphere of its show through a series of videos. A mix of strangeness and mysticism, with a touch of psychedelia. Video clips, created by Inez & Vinoodh, highlighting nature with morning mist, by the River Tweed, between Ireland and England. Using a montage with mirror effects, nature takes on an almost disturbing face. Sepia filters highlight the orange tones of autumn.

An overall atmosphere that might make us think that the show would take us to Tween Peak to the sound of English music…

In addition, Chanel created a video presenting the collection in the same environment. In 4/5 black and white format, model Vivienne Rohner dances in slow motion by the river. With a haughty, even possessed look, the looks are presented, with the camera swirling around her in an enchanting way.

This sequence is interspersed with a cut montage, with colorized shots of the River Tweed superimposed. The addition of distorted signal noises, with music by The Kinks, creates a strange atmosphere, reminiscent of Tween Peak and bordering on the unsettling. Completely timeless.

This video work by Inez & Vinoodh creates a whole new dimension to the show and extends the runway.

This is a way of telling the story of the birth of tweed at Chanel. A flagship fabric of the house, its name is inspired by that famous river, the Tweed, along which Coco Chanel used to walk, on the border of Scotland. Initially seen as masculine, the house has managed to extract feminine cuts from it for its collection.

Chanel has shown us here another way of building the atmosphere of its show, and we love it!