Chanel’s couture presentations are famous for elaborate settings based on a conceptual theme of Karl Lagerfeld‘s choosing. And even when a bustling casino or blooming flowers, the most anticipated event of Couture Week in Paris, the Chanel show never disappoints. This time around, Karl Lagerfeld decided to celebrate nature at Chanel Couture with a zen garden and a minimalist wood house.
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This year Chanel went for a Zen look, erecting a minimalist wood house with a neatly trimmed garden. The spring-summer collection complemented the theme with lightweight materials and natural colors; garments were embroidered with fragments and shavings of wood.
The set, located in the Grand Palais in Paris, took eight days to assemble and four to disassemble. Chanel will keep the house, while the rest of the oak, pine, camphor trees, and grass from the garden will be recycled and used as compost. Time will tell if the venerable Chanel sparks a trend for sustainability in an industry famous for ephemeral affairs.
The Grand Palais featured a two-story wooden structure (which took eight days to build) surrounded by a green geometric garden, made from real grass.
The theme easily came through in the clothes: Fabrics were embroidered with wood shavings, small tiles or patterns of bees, birds and flowers. Each model wore cork platform shoes, and almost every look was a different shade of beige.
The most stunning looks, however, featured geometric lace and textured embroidery in rhinestones or beading that recalled the mathematical patterns of nature without necessarily incorporating “sustainable” fabrics.
And this 2016 Paris Couture Week is all about this: one small step for fashion, one giant leap for Chanel.
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