By Canadian Press

Viard’s debut at Chanel ready-to-wear is crashed by comedian

Oct 1, 2019 | 10:55 AM

PARIS — In her first solo ready-to-wear show since Karl Lagerfeld’s death, Chanel designer Virginie Viard had a lot to prove.

And by recreating a sprawling Parisian roofscape inside the Grand Palais with a front row including Sting and Cardi B, Viard showed she intended to take on Lagerfeld’s mantel of showmanship. But in an unfortunate twist, a runway crasher — a French comedian who shot out from the seated area to walk theatrically with the models — ended up stealing the show in a publicity stunt.

Here are some highlights of Paris Fashion Week’s final day of the spring-summer 2020 collections on Tuesday:

CHANEL’S CATWALK ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Chanel used its formidable show coffers to recreate a cityscape of Haussmannian roofs: Replete with lead tiling, windows with shutters, railings and chimneys.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

With a cracked window pane, weathered rainfall markings and a decidedly gray — not blue — spring sky, it’s clear that the set this season favoured realism over romance. Wet guests coming in from the drizzling Paris weather just added to the ambiance.

Yet the show — and it 83 wearable designs featuring truncated tweeds and A-line miniskirts — seemed to lack in romance.

Many looks evoked the city’s famed understated style: A pair of high-waist cropped jeans was set off with a simple white striped knit jacket, on which a large rose broach subtly matched the model’s red lips. Silver shorts were as fantastical as this grounded collection got.

Tweed mini-dresses were, as ever, beautifully-executed, coming this season with slightly dropped pockets in a gamine style. Stripes and checks appeared across layered skirts and down Chanel’s dresses in a gentle visual kinesis.

But the ready-to-wear collection — Viard’s first as a solo force at the design helm — seemed to lack a central idea.

Lagerfeld’s daringly inventive silhouettes are a hard act to follow — and this display, though both wearable and highly chic — fell short of the sunshine.

___

CHANEL’S FASHION INTRUDER

At the finale for the Chanel show, a guest resembling a Mary Poppins figure in tweed, identified as a French YouTuber and comedian Marie Benoliel, stood up and boldly walked onto the runway.

With a theatrical nod to confused spectators, some of whom momentarily thought she was part of the presentation, Benoliel then started to strut down the rooftop runway with all the other models. Apart from the slightly besheveled swagger in her walk, she almost blended in.

The catwalk crasher moved so quickly that Chanel’s bewildered security team didn’t have time to catch up. Gigi Hadid, who put the super in supermodel, saved the day by apprehending the hat-wearing lady at the end of the podium. She and other models then escorted Benoliel off the roof.

Benoliel has done this before, according to her YouTube channel, on which she posted the Chanel stunt. She previously managed to get onstage at an Etam show with Cindy Bruna in lingerie.

She goes by the name Marie S’Infiltre on Instagram, meaning roughly “Mary gets inside” in French.

___

MIU MIU’S QUIRKS

Perhaps the rain was keeping them away.

Miu Miu’s once-formidable front row was more of a low key affair Tuesday — although singer Rita Ora, model Alexa Chung and socialite Olivia Palermo added glamour.

Yet the humour and eccentric contrasts associated with Prada’s quirky little sister brand remained unchanged in the show itself, which featured blown-up prints and buttons.

Gigi Hadid, fresh from diverting Chanel’s catwalk crasher, was back on the runway in one of the best early Miu Miu looks: A large white skirt that was crisply pleated with V-straps and lace-up PVC boots.

The proportions of an oversized black woolen menswear jacket were mirrored by its big blown-up buttons, and came above a ruffled split skirt and kinky green lace-up boots.

Elsewhere, pieces of contrasting-colored fabric appeared across busts or at the hip, as if blown onto the model by a gust of wind.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K

Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press