SINGAPORE - Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld unveiled his latest Autumn Winter 2013/2014 high fashion collection in a ruined theatre set against a futuristic skyline of an imaginary city said to be inspired by Singapore, reported the New York Times.
Lagerfeld, who was last seen in Singapore during Chanel's Resort collection, said the set's inspiration was to show the contrast between a crumbling old world and a shimmering new one in the backdrop. Tim Blanks writing for Style.com described the fashion set as 'an Emerald City on the Far Eastern frontier'.
Celebrities including Rihanna and Taiwanese actress Lin Chi-ling and top people from the fashion industry had to reach their seats by traipsing through rubble in the damaged theatre, specially built for the show at Paris' Grand Palais on Monday.
Model and actress of movie franchise 'Resident Evil' Milla Jovovich told Reuters she had never seen a fashion show set 'deconstructed' in this way.
The former model thought the place was a joke when she first entered and thought 'Karl really forgot to do the place up". She described it as 'a hot mess.'
All doubts were cast aside after the opera music faded and the tattered stage curtains rose to conjure Lagerfeld's vision of a new world.
The smashed, mouldy columns and peeling plasters set against the gleaming backdrop created a visual mood for 'a modernist couture collection'.
Describing the direction of his latest collection, Lagerfeld said it was difficult to explain but added he wanted 'tradition with future'.
Models strutted in with squarish-looking hair as an homage to icon Grace Jones and thick, heavy-looking belts were seen as a noted accessory.
The looks donned the classic Chanel style - clean, comfortable and impeccable. The palette was mostly sombre with grey, black and white, with a textured look of tweed suits and layered hemlines. Evening wear were dresses in geometric prints, said AFP and Her World.