CHANEL at Grand Palais, 8^th Arrondissement, Tuesday, October 6, 2009:

I have been to fashion nirvana, and it was the CHANEL Show. From the moment I walked into the Grand Palais with its enormous glass dome and the sun shining through, I thought – this is going to be special.  I found my seat and saw that the “runway” was a country scene that consisted of a meandering oval dirt path around a giant two-story barn adorned with garlands of flowers and a large hay bale.  Prince, Rihanna and Claudia Schiffer were all seated in the front row.  Apparently Marie Antoinette and the rustic “retreat,” the Hameau de la Reine that she had built at Versailles, inspired the collection, and the setting. 

Models emerged from the hay bale, their hair a bit mussed up, and smiled, even flirted, with the cameras.  The look was classic Chanel – lots of black and ivory, satin ribbons, bows, lace and boucle – with a youthful twist.  Although black and white were the predominant colors, the collection also exhibited the classic combination of red and blue — for example, red appeared as a poppy print on an ivory mini-skirt, and the colors were combined on a sassy sequined mini dress.  The majority of the skirts were short – either figure fitting with thigh slits or voluminous and bell-shaped.  There were also a few long skirts of sheer, transparent and flowing fabrics.  All were fabulous.  The minis were paired with fun, high-heeled clogs and stockings decorated to look either like the model had on a thigh-high garter or ballerina-like satin straps that criss-crossed up her calves.  I honestly cannot name a favorite piece because I liked pretty much everything that I saw…  Suddenly, three-quarters of the way through, Lily Allen emerged on a platform that rose through the floor and performed live for the remainder of the show!  To call it a “fashion show” would not do it justice – it was fashion theatre, a fashion theatre masterpiece, to be precise.

The scene at the CHANEL Boutique reopening in San Francisco: http://www.redcarpetsf.com/onthetown/chanel-celebration.html.