chanel f/w 2014/15

Karl Lagerfeld for fall imagined world as a megastore—un grand magasin—under the sign of the double C. The shelves of his extraordinarily detailed set were stacked with more than a hundred thousand items, brazenly advertised at 20 or 50 percent more. No bargains in these aisles. The labels of at least five hundred everyday products had been re-coded in Chanelspeak. Personal favorites included chic black cotton buds sold as bâtonnets élégants; boxes of handkerchiefs labeled Les Chagrins de Gabrielle; house paint in a color called Gris Jersey; detergent and potato chips; and, best of all, a hardware department that featured a chain saw with a real Chanel chain. The one that most entranced the locals was the recasting of a sac poubelle (garbage bag) as a sac plus belle (definitely not a garbage bag). There were also doormats printed with "Mademoiselle Privé." Oh, and one more, the fashion. Lagerfeld helped to make trainers the talking point of the Couture season. Here, he built a collection from the ground up on the footwear. Chanel catwalk accommodated an unusual variety of silhouettes and a massive range of options, from Cara Delevingne's raggy workout-wear to the sheath of clotted flowers that emerged at show's end. Couture's definite corseting inserted itself into the collection, but there was also a raggedy-hemmed smock dress and a black velvet jumpsuit, and a prevailing sense that Lagerfeld has no interest in offering directives. With today's overwhelming, irresistible extravaganza, he was saying that fashion's a supermarket.