Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand browsed breakfast cereals in a tiara: Keira Knightley lingered by the cheese counter; Rihanna looked glamorous over by biscuits and cakes.
Karl Lagerfeld took VIPs shopping on Tuesday at the “Chanel Supermarket” complete with fully-stocked aisles, check-outs, trolleys, special offers and discount posters.
Always widely anticipated as one of “the events” of Paris fashion, Lagerfeld transformed the city’s vast Grand Palais into a life-sized supermarket.
Melanie Griffith, Vanessa Paradis and Mario Testino bolstered the front row while star models Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner, sister of Kim Kardashian, were on the catwalk. “Who’s here?” “Everyone, of course!” gushed a couple of breathless fashionistas.
Guests trailed the aisles in amazement: condiments, pastas, oils and vinegars, cheeses and charcuterie, brooms and dusters, buckets and mops.
Were they real? Can we take them home? people asked assistants in white jackets with a garish supermarket logo.
The answer? Some were, some weren’t. Help yourself to fruit, vegetables and sweets. The packets that were empty would go on display in Chanel shops.
Lagerfeld’s set was so spectacular it was easy to forget the real show hadn’t actually started.
Delevingne kicked off proceedings, slouching along the aisles with attitude in tight fitting pink pants, midriff-baring crop top, long coat and glam sneakers.
A model in a black and silver tweed suit over silver pants accessorised with a bling-covered hand basket sauntered along.
Another in pink and white tweed teamed with matching hat and oversized pearls was accompanied by a man loaded down with Chanel bags.
Lagerfeld’s collection for autumn/winter 2014/15 had a noticeably young, sporty feel with tight-fitting skirts and dresses contrasting with voluminous shapes, and muted shades as counterpoints to explosions of colour.
– Supermarket as ‘pop art’ –
Just because “you buy expensive clothes” it doesn’t mean “you are not allowed in the supermarket,” explained Lagerfeld afterwards.
“That’s why I had a lady who came with her husband from the Chanel shop with all the Chanel bags go out there” on the catwalk, he said.
Lagerfeld admitted that he never went to the supermarket himself due to the pressure of producing multiple collections each year.
But he said he was drawn to the idea that it was “the pop art of today” and reflecting the “everyday in luxury”.
As for the clothes, the collection was all about a “body-conscious silhouette and very comfortable at the same time,” he said.
Skirts had a “very long, lean silhouette with movement so you can walk” and the feel was youthful because, with clothes, you could never be “young enough by today’s standards,” he added.
Keira Knightley said she would “probably not” be wearing her Chanel to the supermarket.
“But I will have my Chanel bag which is the perfect size for a credit card so that’s good enough,” she told AFP.
She added: “I thought it (the collection) was beautiful. There was a corally coloured jumpsuit that I have my eye on and a very beautiful grey jacket.”
“Thank you and come again,” boomed a voice over the tannoy.