Scene and Heard: Chanel Fall 2013 Couture
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Credit: Olivier Saillant / Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Credit: Olivier Saillant / Courtesy of Chanel
Photo Credit: Olivier Saillant / Courtesy of Chanel
A post-apocalyptic Grand Palais served as the setting for Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel fall 2013 haute couture show on Tuesday, July 2, in Paris. Model Erin Wasson, who splits her time between Venice and New York, closed the show wearing a white coat over an ethereal transparent wedding gown. Los Angeles guests including actress Kristen Stewart, Mila Jovovich, Sutton Stracke, Colleen Bell, Caroline Bell, Maria Arena Bell, Gelila Puck, Eric Buterbaugh, United States Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin, Cameron Silver and C Magazine fashion editor Samantha Traina watched the show from a set built to resemble a romantically dilapidated theater with broken chairs, crumbling concrete and a twisted mess of steel bars and beams. The image of a futuristic city set behind the ripped theater curtain hinted at the mix of belted looks that came down the runway. There were mod skirts paired with jackets that had rounded shoulders and wide sleeves, and also gowns tiled with crystals. The black and white palette riddled with gray, dark blue, beige and light pink was particularly striking against surroundings riddled with the chipped concrete and rusting pipes. Caroline Bell said that the show included a track, “F for You,” from one of her favorite electronic artist duos, Disclosure, made up of Guy and Howard Lawrence. “I saw them at Coachella in April,” she said, noting that the British brothers who grew up in Surrey launched their debut album, Settle, in June.
The day before the runway show, the French fashion house also previewed its newest fine jewelry collection, Sous le Signe du Lion. The 58 new designs were inspired by the Lion of Venice in Piazza San Marco, a majestic statue first seen by Gabrielle Chanel in 1920, when she visited Venice following the death of her lover, Boy Capel. The designer’s August birthday placed her under the sign of the Leo, and she decorated her Rue Cambon apartment with the symbol and even used it on suit buttons and handbags clasps. So it seems fitting, just as the astrological calendar shifts towards Chanel’s sign, that the emblematic lion should appear in white gold and diamonds during couture week.
Pictured: A look from the Chanel fall 2013 couture presentation.
Photo courtesy of Chanel
