Breakfast with Karl Lagerfeld is anything but Tiffany blue.
Chanel’s creative director served up his latest offering for the fashion house on the set of a high-end French Bistro, continuing his foray into Parisian hospitality after being tapped to upscale suites at the city’s famed Hotel de Crillon last year.
Luxe red leather booths, crisp white tablecloths and an enormous dark woodwork bar – complete with dapper waitstaff – created the Chanel Brasserie, a temporary restaurant erected at the Grand Palais – fit for the lady who does (the liquid) lunch.
Cara Delevinge, Kendall Jenner, Lindsey Wixson and Jamie Bochert were among the It girls who walked the show, which played out like a glamorously opulent display of the sort of dining affair one might experience after graduating from table-top dancing during an extended Sunday disco brunch at New York’s Lavo.
Chanel’s classic bread-and-butter staples were given a reboot by reimagining daywear basics into the world of Madam Coco-approved high society, while the dapper wait staff and models perched at the bar while sipping on grapefruit juice gave the performance an authentic vibe.
The designer offered up more than 90 looks that ranged from monochrome babydoll dresses to lined parkas, quilted outerwear and mid-length coats in a fall-ready color palette of grey, merlot and black.
Also catering for the chillier months were roll-neck sweaters and floral coats and embellished parkas in luxurious fabrics, certain to have you skipping line at coat check as you beeline straight for the bar.
The label’s infamous ode to tweed was peppered throughout on ladylike, corporate-ready attire, given a girly twist through classic pearls and ribbon headbands. Bow tie detailing and lapels on white shirts gave the show an Upper West Side prep-school flavor, while a series of looks in houndstooth plaid print will have you decked out as you swap your handbag for a hunting rifle ahead of your long weekend in your cabin upstate come fall.
Taking the gaming season thematic a little too literally was a lineup that featured a grey triple-breasted Peabody jacket, complete with ready-to-fly-away white feathered sleeves and a mid-length voluminous matching skirt.
A standout look was a crisp white skirt suit with a button-down jacket covered in ruffles, perfect for swapping your flute of bubbles for a sip of holy water at your niece’s baptism uptown.
Catering to the late night supper when you just can’t sleep were a series of Studio 54-inspired metallic zigzag dresses in pastel hues, teamed with a shimmery gold cardigan.
While Chanel hair slides propped up messy chignons provided a flirty, youthful contrast to bold, dramatic lids, the designer kept footwear simple, featuring a toe-capped, mid-heeled slingback throughout.
Lagerfeld removed any concern among the fash pack about how to digest the overwhelming number of diverse looks in his latest offering by closing with a set of seven sheer black babydoll dresses in an array of styles.
An LBD for every day of the week? I’m sure fashion editors everywhere would be delighted to cheers to that.
