Chanel Opens a Supermarket for Fall 2014 (Runway Review)

The Scene: The Grand Palais was transformed into a 139,930-square-foot Chanel shopping center and the likes of Keira Knightley, Rihanna, Melanie Griffith, Vanessa Paradis and Clémence Poésy were all roaming the aisles. Fittingly, there were signs indicating “+50%.” According to WWD, however, the goods won’t go to waste as all the real food will be distributed to charities through Chanel’s in-house caterers and most of the packaged goods, which were empty, will be used for window displays in Chanel stores around the world. Among the models who walked in the show were Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner.

The Inspiration: The everyday and the sporty. “The supermarket is a thing of today’s life. Even the woman who wears expensive clothing goes to the supermarket, but she shouldn’t go in stilettos,” Karl Lagerfeld proclaimed to WWD.

The Look: Who would have ever thought that Karl Lagerfeld would encourage women to not only shop at a Costco-like supermarket, but wear sneakers in the process? While the designer already shocked by showing trainers on his most recent couture runway, these were even brighter and more colorful. Fittingly, there was a distinct sportiness to the lineup this season, which made for crop tops and leggings in all varieties including covered in glitter, brightly patterned and finished with holes. The collection including nearly 80 looks so there was a wide range of silhouettes, though most veered on the oversized side, again in keeping with the more relaxed feel of the collection.

While it was hard to see any of the looks as traditional given that they were paired with bright trainers, there were plenty of classic skirt suits and bouclé pantsuits in the mix. That said, it wasn’t the most wearable collection with plenty of clashing loud prints, net-like fabrics, heavy embellishments and questionably flattering cuts. Further, it remains to be seen whether the Chanel customer will splurge on the like of fake candy necklaces – either way it made for one of the season’s most memorable shows.

The Accessories: A slew of quirky handbags (some were shaped like supermarket shopping baskets and trimmed with the brand’s signature bag chain and others had the words “laid de coco” emblazoned on them, for example), animal skin wheelies, classic quilted bags in colorful patterns, quilted black headphones, padlock necklaces, sneakers and sneaker boots.

The Beauty: Models had winged eyes and beautiful scraps of fabric woven into a tight ponytail.

The Takeaway: It may not have consisted of the most flattering pieces, but with his supermarket set-up, Karl Lagerfeld has insured that if there’s one show people will remember from this season, it’s Chanel.

images: IMAXtree


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