Exuberant Couture Stages - Chanel at the Grand Palais (VIDEO)

Karl Lagerfeld needed a dramatic space to show his Chanel collection for the fall, so he chose the Grand Palais. The huge space made the enormous gathering of the fashion elite seem insignificant when compared to his runway showing.  The master showed suits, embroidery, chiffon, and evening wear.  Most were in the subdued colors that will be so fashionable this fall. Tweeds with belled skirts, bunchy cap sleeves and rolls of material at the waist or hemline were very striking.

When showing in the Grand Palais—a soaring dome of a space capable of dwarfing an enormous audience and miniaturizing any runway—Karl Lagerfeld had to exaggerate to make his theme carry. Thus, a 50-foot set was craned in to announce the season’s keynote: in this case, a vas,t multilevel stack of steel-gray tubes, suggesting organ pipes.

The video above shows the exuberant set design at the show.

Take a look at some more from the spring/summer 2009 Paris Couture week, followed by the previous Chanel show at the Grand Palais.

Transparent Fashion - Dior Couture Fall 08/09 Plays Peekaboo in Paris (GALLERY)

John Galliano started the Paris couture season with an exquisite Dior Couture Fall 08/ 09 show that flaunted peekaboo ‘now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t’ pieces. I have to say this is my absolute favorite… [More]

Ring Around the Cardigan - Chanel Couture Show in Paris (VIDEO)

At his Spring/Summer 2008 couture show in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld and his models marched around a giant Chanel-branded fashion statue. Taking center stage at the show was a gigantic cardigan, one of the… [More]