Our Paris schedule didn’t originally include the Chanel show, but when the opportunity arose we definitely weren’t going to say no! Chanel is renowned for having some of the most creative and elaborate sets for their shows, with previous seasons including a full forest with models walking on fallen leaves, a recreated airport, and obviously my personal favorite, a giant rocket ship as the back drop to a space themed collection.
The invitation arrived with a beach umbrella on the front, and the show hashtag #ChanelByTheSea printed inside, so picking the likely theme wasn’t that hard…. That said, Sascha and I arrived at the Grand Palais on a grey Paris morning, only to find ourselves transported to the seaside, complete with sand, seagulls, and actual waves.
Needless to say, we immediately joined the crowds rushing down to the waters edge to take pictures of ourselves
even if it did mean my shoes were full of sand by the time I sat down. Definitely falls into the category of first world problems…
No detail had been spared, there were even lifeguards – although I’m not sure if they were models or actually qualified to do something if anyone ventured in too deep!
The show began, with the models skipping along the beach carrying their shoes in their hands so they could kick their heels up in the waves.
Once they’d walked the length of the beach, they popped their shoes on and headed down the boardwalk, not even flinching at the feel of their sandy feet in their shoes – as Sascha pointed out to me when I was still whinging about the sand in my shoes after our pre-show pics. Guess the life of a model is not for me….
There were an enormous number of looks, the most of any of the shows we went too, but all too soon it was over and the models came out en masse for what looked like the best dressed beach party I’ve ever seen.
I tipped the last of the sand out of my shoes, took a final few pictures, and we raced back to our hotel to do a quick change ready for the next event, blown away by the creativity (and budget!) that had gone into delivering an experience that we would remember forever.