A Chanel catwalk is never far from being a full-on theater play, with its own props, backgrounds, scenes and actors. We all remember the iceberg from Fall/Winter 2010/11 and the boost in publicity it gave the brand, as well as setting a trend for the years to come. This season, Karl Lagerfeld decided to go green, decorating his catwalk as a wind farm, and making his models walk on rows after rows of solar panels; with such a rich setting, it can become hard to concentrate on all the garments presented on the day. One could feel a certain desire for lightness, for sweetness even, in all the clothes, following a dark F/W season. This however did not constrain the collection, as there was still a vast variety of styles presented, from the pearl dresses, the sweater and the organza flowers for the playful women, to the white flower embroidered dresses for the innocent Scandi girls. Bright summery colours were predominant in most looks and scattering pearls replaced the usual braids, buttons and chains. The silhouette was dominated by an A-line or a bolero. Lagerfeld loved the skirt dress—pulled up in a bustier style—as opposed to the shirtdress. He also followed this season’s trend of putting leather skirts as wardrobe staples. It was also impossible not to notice the large, transparent PVC hats, as well as the tops printed with windfarms in a charming manner. The show ended on a very light touch, with dressy white pieces appliquéd with flowers that looked like candy wrappers, making the collection a very modern and woman-friendly one.
