Chanel Fashion Show Sets Through the Years: Spaceships, Supermarkets and More Whimsical Scenery

Karl Lagerfeld revived one of France’s most legendary fashion houses after it faced financial decline in the 1970s. He altered the label’s reputation, making gold chains, tweed and pearls suitable for younger customers.

Lagerfeld’s storied tenure at the brand cannot be mentioned without the theatrical fashion shows he frequently staged. Even before Chanel first took over the Grand Palais in 2005, the designer presented runway sets that were bigger and bolder than the next, sending models down curvy catwalks, across lap pools and later, through the halls of the Hôtel Ritz.

As the late creative director’s legacy is explored in Hulu’s “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld,” a look back at some of the greatest, grandest Chanel fashion show sets of all time.

• Fall 1985 Ready-to-Wear

  

  For Chanel’s fall 1985 collection, models passed through a faux façade resembling the label’s Paris flagship store, located at 31 Rue Cambon, which sits beneath Coco Chanel’s former apartment. The building was erected in the 18th century and purchased by the designer in 1918.

• Spring 1992 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Models at Chanel’s spring 1992 presentation emerged from an enchanted forest, which featured tree trunks tagged with the label’s trademark double “C” logo and the phrase “I love Coco.” Bubbles cascaded down from the ceiling as Linda Evangelista opened the show.

• Fall 1995 Couture

  

  The black and white set for Chanel’s fall 1995 couture show included a functioning fountain emblazoned with the fashion house’s logo. The backdrop, which appeared three-dimensional, was painted with conical topiaries.

• Fall 2000 Couture

  

  One of the first Chanel shows to be staged on location was the fall 2000 couture collection, which debuted at the Piscine Keller swimming facility in Paris. Models appeared to walk on water as the clear runway sat atop a lap pool.

• Spring 2002 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Lagerfeld had a curvy runway built for Chanel’s spring 2002 fashion show. Models zig-zagged down the catwalk in leather pantsuits featuring zipper embellishments, sneakers and oversize shield sunglasses, embodying the collection’s motorsports theme and setting early aughts trends.

• Spring 2005 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Chanel’s spring 2005 fashion show riffed on celebrity culture, with the runway masked by a red carpet. Akin to an award show or film premiere, “photographers” armed with flashbulbs flanked either side of the catwalk as studio lights hung from the ceiling.

  Sound designer Michel Gaubert, who came up in the 1980s Paris club scene, curated the soundtrack for the show, which featured a medley of retro hits including Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and Prince’s “Kiss.” Nicole Kidman, who was dressed by Chanel at the 2002 and 2004 Oscars, sat front row.

• Spring 2006 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Chanel made its Grand Palais debut with the reveal of the label’s spring 2006 collection. Lagerfeld tapped into the emergence of Internet culture, dreaming up a giant desktop computer — with a fully-functional screen displaying the runway — that resembled Apple’s iMac. The tech company’s logo, however, was replaced with Chanel’s double Cs.

• Fall 2008 Ready-to-Wear

  

  A double-decker carousel was constructed for the fashion house’s fall 2008 presentation. It featured some of Chanel’s notable motifs, including pearls and camellia flowers. Larger-than-life quilted flap bags, ballet flats and cuff bracelets substituted for horses, with models rounding a circular runway before taking their places on the rotating merry-go-round, which included motorized poles resembling the actual ride.

• Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Taking inspiration from Marie Antoinette’s rustic farmhouse on the grounds of Versailles, Lagerfeld had a double C-encrusted barn erected in the Grand Palais to present his spring 2010 collection, entitled “romp in the hay.” Models emerged from a large bale, while during the finale, Chanel muses Lara Stone, Baptiste Giabiconi and Freja Beha Erichson canoodled in a straw patch at the center of the runway. Lily Allen rose from a platform in the ground to perform her 2008 track “Not Fair.”

• Spring 2012 Couture

  

  Chanel flew the friendly skies for its spring 2012 couture presentation. A faux airliner was placed inside the Grand Palais, with models, clad in 60s-inspired dresses reminiscent of retro flight attendants, parading down a carpeted runway illuminated with fluorescent cabin lighting. Lagerfeld exited the “cockpit” — complete with a realistic background — at the finale.

• Métiers d’Art 2013

  

  Everything’s bigger in Texas — including Chanel. For the label’s 2013 Métiers d’Art collection, the French fashion house touched down in Fair Park, Dallas. Chanel’s rustic rodeo-inspired set included floors strewn with hay and American flag buntings. The theme appeared to reference Coco Chanel’s ties to the Lone Star State: the designer visited Dallas in 1957 at the invitation of Stanley Marcus, former president of the department store Neiman Marcus.

• Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Leave it to Chanel to make grocery shopping chic. Lagerfeld turned the Grand Palais into a supermarket for his fall 2014 fashion show, with models browsing aisles in tweed skirt suits and matching sneakers. The label’s late creative director crafted handbags that were particularly on theme, including shopping baskets constructed from Chanel’s trademark leather-woven chainlink straps and plastic-wrapped quilted flap bags packaged in paper cartons.

  Even the products on the shelves featured Chanel branding: tins of tuna were marked “Délice de Gabrielle,” an homage to Coco Chanel’s first name. Wheels of camembert labeled “Cambonay” referenced Rue Cambon, the street where Chanel’s Paris flagship stands.

  “Why a supermarket? It is something of today’s life and even people who dress at Chanel go there — it’s a modern statement for expensive things,” Lagerfeld told the New York Times.

• Fall 2015 Couture

  

  A Monte Carlo-esque casino set was staged at the Grand Palais for Chanel’s fall 2015 couture show. Decorated with slot machines and roulette tables, a slew of celebrity muses (Kristen Stewart, Julianne Moore, Vanessa Paradis) sat and gambled as models rounded the casino floor.

• Métiers d’Art 2017

  

  Coco Chanel once inhabited the legendary Hôtel Ritz in Paris, making it a fitting scene for Chanel’s 2017 Métiers d’Art presentation. Lily-Rose Depp opened the show, in which models — including fellow nepo babies Selah Marley, Sistine Stallone and Sofia Richie — descended from a wraparound staircase before navigating their way through the Ritz’s luxe lounges. Attendees were served traditional tea menus of sandwiches and scones.

• Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Lagerfeld sent a Chanel rocket into orbit for the label’s fall 2017 collection, which melded metallic space age flairs with retro motifs including wide headbands, pearls and bouffants. Elton John’s “Rocket Man” closed the show, following a countdown before the chic spaceship — emitting smoke and flying sparks — took flight.

• Spring 2019 Ready-to-Wear

  

  The Grand Palais transformed into the European coastline for Chanel “By the Sea” — otherwise known as the label’s spring 2019 fashion show. Models sporting straw hats and swimsuits made their way down a boardwalk runway, then a sandy beach where simulated waves crashed at their bare feet. For the finale, Lagerfeld emerged from a nipa hut alongside his successor, Virginie Viard.

• Métiers d’Art 2019

  

  Given the collection’s Egyptian theme, there was no better place to stage Chanel’s 2019 Métiers d’Art show than in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur. Transported from the sand dunes of Egypt to New York in the mid-twentieth century, the ancient structure also serves as the centerpiece for Vogue’s annual Met Gala reception. During the presentation, Pharrell Williams strutted the catwalk wearing gold garb and graphic eye makeup à la King Tut’s gilded sarcophagus.

• Fall 2019 Ready-to-Wear

  

  The first Chanel fashion show following Lagerfeld’s passing was brimming with emotion. A whimsical Swiss chalet set powdered with faux snow (which also lined the runway) was erected at the Grand Palais. Models grew teary-eyed during the finale as David Bowie’s “Heroes” blasted from the speakers.

• Spring 2020 Ready-to-Wear

  

  Creative director Virginie Viard brought he Haussmann-style rooftops of Paris to the Grand Palais for Chanel’s spring 2020 presentation. Gigi Hadid, who walked in the show, famously made headlines for escorting a runway crasher off of the catwalk.

• Cruise 2021

  

  Chanel traveled to Les Baux-de-Provence, France, to stage its 2021 cruise show. The COVID-friendly presentation, which took place without an audience, was held at the Carrières de Lumières, a former quarry known for its picturesque geometric structure.

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