If only Charles de Gaulle could take design tips from Chanel. Flying high at Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld took onlookers around the world with Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2016 runway show, starting at his very own Chanel Airlines terminal.
Editors arrived at the aptly named Gate N°5, flight tickets in hand, to see the Grand Palais transformed. The runway weaved around aisles and check-in counters at the all-white departure lounge, complete with check-in desks, flight attendants, and roaming pilots. And the air travel theme didn’t stop there. Models donned landing strip light-up sandals, dresses patterned like arrivals boards, and safety belt buckles. Prints and textiles, like tweeds, ikats, and tartans, referenced international cultures. Chanel suitcases rolled down the runway and some models toted new micro-size luggage bags.
Lagerfeld, Chanel’s creative director, is no stranger to the airplane motif. Chanel's 2008 cruise show in Santa Monica was housed in an airplane hangar and models entered the runway from private jets. In 2012, Chanel's Couture show converted the Grand Palais into an airplane cabin, detailed down to the numbered seats and replica cockpit. At Lagerfeld's latest Chanel Airlines iteration, celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Lily-Rose Depp, Maria Sharapova, and Janelle Monáe graced the front row, while Kendall Jenner and Edie Campbell walked the runway. Could Chanel's tweed suits replace the tracksuit as the new flying style? We hope so.
