Chanel Fall Couture 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall Couture 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Cruise 2016 in Havana, Cuba (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring Couture 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2016 in Rome, Italy (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall Couture 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall Couture 2016 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2015 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2015 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring Couture 2015 (Photo: Olivia Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring Couture 2015 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2015 in Salzburg, Austria (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2015 in Salzburg, Austria (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring 2015 (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring 2015 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Fall Couture 2014 (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Resort 2015 in Dubai, UAE (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Resort 2015 in Dubai, UAE (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2014 (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Fall 2014 (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Spring Couture 2014 (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2014 in Dallas, USA (Photo: Olivier Saillant/Chanel)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2014 in Dallas, USA (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring 2014 (Photo: AP/Christophe Ena)
Chanel Fall Couture 2013 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Fall 2013 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2013 in Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring Couture 2013 (Photo: Chanel)
Chanel Spring 2013 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Cruise 2012 in Versailles (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring Couture 2012 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Pre-Fall 2012 in Bombay, India (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring 2012 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Fall 2010 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Spring 2010 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Fall Couture 2009 (Photo: Getty)
Chanel Fall 2008 (Photo: Getty)
A Brief History of Chanel’s Most Elaborate Runway Shows
Let's take a walk down memory lane, Chanel style. You'll never run out of party themes and ideas after this.
| July 7, 2016When it comes to runway sets, it’s hard to one up Chanel. Season after season, Karl Lagerfeld and crew push the limits of what one expects from a runway show. We’ve seen carousels, supermarkets, airports, boulangeries, zen gardens and faux film sets, just to name a few. Chanel has also flown its collections to countless cities outside Paris, from Edinburgh to Dubai, each show complete with looks and a set themed to the host city.
Every time you think that Chanel cannot possibly top itself, it does. Even when the set for the season is relatively “pared down”, it’s still pretty damn spectacular. Take the “Front Row Only” Fall/Winter 2016 show, or Tuesday’s Fall Couture show, where Chanel transformed the Grand Palais into its atelier for the day. There were mannequins, rolls of fabric, sewing machines and actual Chanel staff going about their work. The devil’s in the details at Chanel. Of course, if you want to talk about details, the Chanel Supermarket from Fall/Winter 2014 deserves prime mention. That one takes the cake, really, no pun intended.
Chanel has a long history, which means plenty of crazy, incredible and extravagant sets to revisit. In the light of Chanel’s most recent set win, we’ve compiled some of our all-time favourite Chanel sets in the gallery above. What do you say – shall we take a little stroll down memory lane? Get a little fashion education?
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