The Show Must Go On
Image Courtesy: Strike Tallahassee
Two weeks prior to the Chanel 2019 Paris Fashion Show, on February 19th, the Chanel artistic director Karl Lagerfeld passed away. Lagerfeld served as the Chanel artistic director for nearly 36 years. His eye for all things couture and fashion truly set him apart from the rest and made his name a staple textbook name in the industry. In true Chanel fashion, the runway show held in the dome of Paris’s Grand Palais was anything but ordinary. Grand Palais was actually a favorite of Lagerfeld's, as it held countless Chanel runway shows which all never failed to disappoint the crowd. Some of his most memorable shows held there include the cruise ship, eiffel tower replica, and Chanel shopping centre shows. Lagerfeld even nicknamed this runway design setting the Chalet Gardenia. The setting of the show was like ski village, which composed of alpine wonderland-like props such as fake snow, ski lodges, and Chanel skis placed in the snow banks.
Image Courtesy: Dezeen
With respect to Lagerfeld’s passing, the show began with a moment of silence in his honor. Following that moment of silence an audio clip of Lagerfeld speaking played where he explained his creative vision and thought that went into planning his work as well as the evolution of his art. Following this, one of his favorite model muses, Cara Delevingne, opened the show. Delevingne wasn’t the only muse that walked in the show, models such as Penelope Cruz and the Hadid sisters also walked the winter wonderland runway. The audience was composed of famous A-listers, all who admired Lagerfeld as a person and a designer. Some of the audience members included Kristen Stewart, Naomi Campbell, and Ellie Bamber.
The garments had a modern twist on typical ski attire as some were made up of tweed, others faux fur, and others were chiffon “snowball” like skirts. The line stuck to Chanel’s staple color scheme of beige, crisp white, navy, and black. As all of the models returned to the runway for the final walk to the song “Heroes” by David Bowie there was not one with a dry eye on the runway...or the audience. This show was truly the end of an era. Karl Lagerfeld was never one to be sentimental, he was a true believer that the show must go on regardless of the circumstances. His mentality about continuing on no matter the circumstances was seen during the show on the audience member’s seat. On each seat there was an illustration of Karl Lagerfeld and Coco Chanel with the words “The beat goes on…”. Which it will.
As this chapter comes to an end, another begins. Virginie Viard and Eric Pfrunder will now take over as the artistic director of Chanel. Both have worked closely with Lagerfeld and have a true understanding of the brand and what it represents so they are truly the best in the business to take over Lagerfeld’s 36-year-old legacy. Karl Lagerfeld’s unprecedented fashion career will always have its roots in Chanel for the rest of time.
Strike Out,
Writer: Kierstin Zankl
Editor: Savannah Tindall
Graphic Designer: Sophie Li
Tallahassee