CHANEL CRUISE COLLECTION PART II

5.34 p.m.: Arrival on the site, boats are waiting for the guests. The light is crazy, it already is quite magical.

5.52 p.m.: It’s both feet on solid ground that I discover it covered with a field of candles, a small path draws a route between tents and leads to the place of the show… As I get closer to the building housing the show, I wonder if Chanel really had made a double C moucharaby.

6.02 p.m.: Backstage ! Magic is still working, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I hope this excitement and adrenaline will never leave me. 

6.13 p.m.: I’m looking for the slightest camellia and embroideries that I could have seen at the Lesage and Lemarié workshops! Look at who we find above ! Dominique, look! 

6.26 p.m.: Flowers and flowers, embroideries everywhere, I basking in a quasi regressive bliss. I try to make myself the smallest possible, every dresser stands at attention, waiting for the models to finish having their make-up and hair done. 

6.32 p.m.: I discover pieces of jewelers’ crafts on a table, more treasures in every corner of this backstage, I turn around like crazy and suddenly Karl is passing by: I feel like everyone moves away and turns around as if you mustn’t make an eye-contact with him. Okay, I want to make myself really small and at the same time I’m hypnotized. 

6.40 p.m.: I think I explored everything backstage, I’m starting to see some models arrive. Make-up, hair and jewels make me think of the Paris/Bombay show that I loved, I want it to start ! 

6.45 p.m.: I can’t seem to leave, I’m going around one more time, I even dare touching. I’m going to wake-up at some point. 

6.52 p.m.: I’m stepping inside the building before going out to take pictures of the guest’s arrival, I see my seat: Madame… I’m going from one surprise to another, I think it’s safe to say that I have a ringside seat. Make my lemonade with an « e » this time, I like the gesture… 

7.03 p.m.: Okay so this is a double C moucharaby, it is brilliant ! I’m a fan of the giant palm trees I feel like they're made with metal, very 50’s. Every piece of decoration will then be taken apart and used when the time comes for the boutiques’ setting and windows. 

7.05 p.m.: Veiled women put all into make-up and accessorizes, handbags go by two and don’t get me started on shoes, always more amazing. 

7.08 p.m.: Every guest is lined on the hard little path, perfect for some street style. Once again it’s hard to choose. 

7.10 p.m.: People are losing patience, they want to come in, it’s almost electrical, they shuffle, they fan, there still is a scorching heat but the sun goes down really fast. Light declines and the building starts to lighten, the shadows made by the double C are fully realized…

7.14 p.m.: Here it is, everybody goes in, takes pictures in this setting, finds their seat, everyone smiles, must feel terribly important and I, I’m in the middle of all this laughing, my smile is unremovable from my face, I have this feeling that what I am doing worths as much as a real newspaper made out of paper…

7.32 p.m.: It’s dark outside and the show starts, I’m too focused behind my camera to hear the music playing, the air is warm and I start to get amazed immediately from the firsts looks. 

7.34 p.m.: I’m craving for golden high waisted jeans and a nude silk shirt, let’s not even talk about the moon-shaped strass head jewels.

7.34 p.m.: Chanel re-interprets a whole local imagery from the Dubai skyline to keffieh prints including ancient flowers ceramics. I feel a general arabic inspiration with many influences, more like a modern One thousands and one nights than an ode to the pure Dubaian culture.  

7.37 p.m.: Handbag passion… A huge thought to Lemarié and another one to my sweet Karuna Balloo. I find on the internet the existence of a golden quilted jerry can shaped handbag, I love that sort of reference, a bit like the « Lait de COCO » one from the last show at the Grand Palais. Yes, I’m charmed.

7.39 p.m.: Those silhouettes are my favorites, their colors, their patterns, the silk and they’re so 70’s.

7.45 p.m.: Helllooo the neoprene bathing suit DIY for this summer… 

7.47 p.m.: Can you recognize the flowers met at the Lemarié workshop ? And the small details of the shoes lighten by led… I admire the facility that Karl Lagerfeld can have to constantly renew, to use creativity and humor as driving forces that put fashion into a fresh and light universe, despite the economical situation.  

7.52 p.m.: Absolute crush on this coat, I already loved the embroidery details on the hanger but now I’m completely in love with the volume of this item when worn. 

8.00 p.m.: Ah Lindsey Wixson… Another incredible moment, she really has an awesome face!

8:12 p.m.: Let’s get the party started! It’s the rush to interview after the show, the excitement is at its height, I’m mainlining glitters… It’s like my groupie moment bis of the night VANESSAAAA… (Sorry Benjamin, you’re quite blurry…)

Those photos have been taken with the new Leica T.