Chanel Shows Its Stars and Stripes

Ah, Chanel. You could never mistake it for any other show, even if Karl Lagerfeld incorporates other trends that are in vogue.

Just pick any of this season's nouveautés and it will be there, but looking very Chanel, of course. Romper onesie? Check. Transparency? Check. '90s Nirvana plaid, wide legged denim, black and white graphics? Check, check, check.

Lagerfeld's one unifying idea was a sweet '50s Americana theme: There were stars and stripes (go team!), sweaters for the sock hop, and "Be My Baby" playing on the stereo. The models walked out of a giant black bow, one of Chanel's classic symbols.  

A major hair trend this season has been finger-in-the-socket frizz, but at Chanel it was all smooth ponytails—with a twist, of course. 

Chanel brings new meaning to the word "hair tie."

What was the scene like? I hopped out of my cab two blocks away from the Grand Palais because my cab driver sweetly told me I'd gain time by walking the rest. (The first thing I told him when I entered the car was that I had to attend the Chanel défilé. He said "oh la!" and stepped on it. It's a perfectly true cliché that your average French citizen has at least some reverence for the fashion collections.) I arrived in time. And walking up to the venue, the enormous glass-roofed Grand Palais, with the trees lining the boulevard in spectacular fall colors, I felt like I was going to the prettiest rock concert in the world.

And my prediction from yesterday evening was correct. As at a rock concert, almost everybody was wearing black. 

P.S. Kirsten Dunst was there! But how to find her?

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