Chanel recreates Parthenon for cruise collection show in Paris

May 4 , 2017

Karl Lagerfeld’s 2017/2018 cruise collection show for Chanel in Paris. Photo: REUTERS

Karl Lagerfeld climbed Mount Olympus for inspiration in creating Chanel’s latest resort collection, presenting a spectacular Grecian-themed show to a celebrity audience in Paris on Wednesday.

While Gucci will go to Florence, Louis Vuitton to Kyoto, and Dior to Los Angeles to show off their cruise fashions— Karl Lagerfeld chose to host the normally itinerant mid-season collection in Chanel’s terra mater.

Lagerfeld, a larger-than-life fashion showman who is rarely upstaged, opted instead to bring the wonders of the ancient world to Paris’ Grand Palais.

Celebrity guests who included Keira Knightley, Isabelle Huppert and filmmaker Pedro Almodovar gazed in awe at the backdrop that recreated ruins from the Parthenon in Athens and the famed Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion stone for stone, column for column.

Keira Knightley before the Chanel Croisiere (cruise) fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: AFP

Pedro Almodovar before the Chanel Croisiere (cruise) fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: AFP

Liu ShiShi before the Chanel Croisiere (cruise) fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: AFP

Liu Wen before the Chanel Croisiere (cruise) fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: AFP

Irene Kim before the Chanel Croisiere (cruise) fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. Photo: AFP

Pebbles, marble stones and sand decorated the runway alongside a real olive tree, while shrubs and mountain flowers peeked out from between the rocks by which the Grecian goddess-styled models walked during the 15-minute presentation.

“Reality is of no interest to me. I use what I like. My Greece is an idea,” Lagerfeld said of the display.