Chanel caps Paris with ode to fall; stars out at Vuitton

VIP guests at Paris Fashion Week left the urban bustle at the door Tuesday as they entered Paris' Grand Palais to discover a giant indoor forest complete with dewy scents and rustling dry leaves at Chanel's spectacular ode to fall.

Actress Alison Sudol poses before Miu Miu ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney le Caer/Invision/AP)

Designer Karl Lagerfeld crowned the fall-winter shows on its final day with his oak and poplar forest — a welcome breath of fresh air for fatigued fashionistas as they reached the finish line after viewing over 70 collections during the week.

Some highlights of the day, including shows from Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu:

CHANEL'S AUTUMNAL MUSING

An autumnal palette in the clothes mirrored the oak leaves and green moss that covered the floor at the Grand Palais salon.

Models wear creations for the Chanel ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Green, black, beige, gray, russet evoked the months of decay, contrasting with sections of sky blue. Huge statement scarfs in vermilion and saffron added a touch of seasonal humor.

Fuzzy leaf motifs — such as beech, oak, sycamore — were used decoratively on oval or A-line coats that glimmered with metallic thread. Wide coppery pants had a sheen that evoked morning dew.

Model Kaia Gerber wears a creation for the Chanel ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

History is never far from Chanel, the storied maison founded in 1910. The fashions of that era were softly referenced in a series of fully covered gowns in rich fabric with high Edwardian collars, fastidious embellishments and myriad jewelry.

A fur cape in brown and gray with an imposing triangular silhouette looked Russian and imperial.

Models wear creations for the Chanel ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Front row guest Keira Knightley cut a chic color contrast in her purple flared Chanel midi-dress.

GERALDINE CHAPLIN'S ZEST FOR LIFE (AND DEATH)

In a brightly colored Chanel turtleneck, Geraldine Chaplin attended Chanel's autumnal fashion display alongside French singer Vanessa Paradis.

Model Kaia Gerber wears a creation for the Chanel ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The dead leaves scattered around the ground didn't dampen the humor and zest for life of 74-year-old Chaplin, who has played Coco Chanel in film and has an affectionate bond with the house.

The actress daughter of silent movie star Charlie Chaplin will next be seen on the silver screen playing a "very nice English nanny" who meets a sticky end in 2018's "Jurassic World."

A model wears a creation for the Chanel ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

"I get eaten by the biggest, strongest dinosaur," she said while smiling and relishing every word.

"I get thrown into the air and smashed to smithereens, and killed in a horrible way," she added. "It was an amazing experience, obviously."

RESISTANCE TO FRENCH BAN ON SEXIST ADVERTISING

France's broadcasting regulator is clamping down on sexism, issuing a new charter that bans advertising that projects sexist or degrading stereotypes of women, which includes fashion advertising.

Fashion designer Yunko Shimada helps a model backstage before her ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

At Paris Fashion Week, some expressed concern that rules over how women should be represented could threaten artistic freedoms.

The measures could "start infringing on a lot of the expression that pushes in the right way," said Amy Verner, Paris-based freelance fashion writer.

A model waits backstage before Shimada ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

"It's interesting that they're clamping down on it. But what are the barriers? Don't kill beauty and don't kill sex," said Chaplin. "I hope men don't get too scared to flirt," she added.

Vogue.com contributor Luke Leitch defended the image of women in French fashion.

A model wears a creation for the Paul and Joe ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

"French representations of womanhood are actually very strong and self-determined, and I think there are a lot of houses that were built by women in France and we're at one right now," he said at the Chanel show.

"There is a (sexist) pressure. I think you do get masculine impositions but I don't think they often come from high fashion. They come from other industries like motor racing or football," he said.

ELLE FANNING AND THE EARLY 90s AT MIU MIU

Actress Elle Fanning surprised fashion insiders when she took a turn as a model — opening and closing Miu Miu's runway display.

Kaia Gerber wears a creation for Miu Miu ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney le Caer/Invision/AP)

It wasn't the only surprise at designer Miuccia Prada's little sister brand, which was color-rich and replete with unexpected, imaginative twists.

The early '90s was the decade in vogue this season, and a wide shoulder was the key silhouette.

A model wears a creation for Miu Miu ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney le Caer/Invision/AP)

Bleached denim jeans and a coat with a round shape gave way to a golden brown trench with a bright yellow handbag and drainpipe check pants. Colors were used discordantly.

The beehive hair on many of the models also perfectly captured the "alternative" styles of that decade — particularly in Britain with the optimistic joy of Brit Pop.

A model wears a creation for Miu Miu ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney le Caer/Invision/AP)

Humor was everywhere: A buff colored jacket with exaggerated shoulders shimmered like plastic — and was created to appear intentionally synthetic, despite its obvious high price.

Meanwhile, the decor celebrated the universe of the tongue-in-cheek label.

A model wears a creation for Miu Miu ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo by Vianney le Caer/Invision/AP)

Giant black and white signs were hung from the rafters of the show venue. Each sign comprised a letter or an image such as a female body or a face that sometimes evoked the female portraits by Henri Matisse.

The house said it was to express the quirky identity of the mix-and-match house.

LOUIS VUITTON'S LOUVRE SPECTACLE

Statues of grotesque wild boar were lit in dappled light as fierce wolf statues spewed water from gnarling jaws.

A model wears a creation for Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

Louis Vuitton this season opened up one of the most secret courtyards of the Louvre to guests who included actor Jaden Smith and actresses Sophie Turner. Emma Stone, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Connelly and Sienna Miller.

A model wears a creation for Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

The former royal palace is one of the world's biggest, yet still has vast areas little-known to the public. Louis Vuitton — France's most lucrative fashion brand — boasts unrivalled access to Paris' most sacrosanct sites.

An undulating baroque staircase merged with the catwalk to showcase designer Nicolas Ghesquiere's fall-winter designs.

A model wears a creation for Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

Yet despite the buildup, Vuitton's collection made scant reference to the special venues.

Decoration or emphasis on the upper chest was a big theme in the disparate decorative styles that revamped ethnic, sportswear and military styles in a contemporary way.

A model holds a handbag for Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

There were statement collars in contrasting colors, gowns with truncated lattice capes around the bust and tops with chest stripes. A freedom defined many of the upper silhouettes.

A sharply cut tuxedo was worn loosely around the shoulder, sleeves limp. And a knee-length silk dress in horizontal sections fluttered by unstructured in the evening breeze.

A Model wears a creation for Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

The lack of referencing to the historic venue was a missed creative opportunity.

But Ghesquiere may have wanted the beautifully executed clothes to make their own dramatic statement.

Artistic director Nicolas Ghesquiere acknowledges applause after Vuitton ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection in Paris, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

NEW YORK (AP) — Chanel’s new showman, Matthieu Blazy, took his designs on the road Tuesday — or rather, underground, with a buzzy New York runway show staged on an actual subway platform.

The designer, just weeks after his splashy Paris debut for Chanel in October, took over a decommissioned part of Manhattan's Bowery station for his first Métiers d’Art collection. The annual show, which takes place in a different city each year, celebrates the craftsmanship of the artisans that partner with Chanel.

In this case, it was two shows — one in the afternoon and one in the evening. And befitting the first Chanel shows in New York since 2018, there were VIPs aplenty: A$AP Rocky, Tilda Swinton, Ayo Edebiri, Rose Byrne, Kristen Stewart, Sofia Coppola, Lupita Nyong’o, Jessie Buckley, Margaret Qualley, Bowen Yang, Jon Bon Jovi and many others.

The location had been a closely held secret. Guests entered via a doorway at 168 Bowery, and at first, it seemed like Chanel had perhaps decorated an event space to resemble a subway station, complete with tiled walls, turnstiles and a newsstand (with its own bespoke newspapers).

But down a flight of stairs was the real platform. Guests settled into bleacher seats resembling subway benches. “Stand clear of the closing doors!” came the announcement on the soundtrack, familiar to New Yorkers. Then a train came rolling in, and out of the cars came the models.

The show was a marked contrast in vibe with the last Métiers d’Art collection in New York in 2018, when the late designer Karl Lagerfeld took over the Egyptian Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for what felt like a mini-Met Gala, with clothes channeling the luxury of Egyptian royalty.

Blazy was inspired not by royalty but by ordinary urban commuters, of different ages and types, coming together in a mashup of styles from different eras, from the 1920s onward.

“The New York subway belongs to all,” the designer said in his show notes. "Everyone uses it. There are students and game-changers, statesmen and teenagers. It is a place full of wonderful encounters, a clash of pop archetypes.”

His models strolled the platform, some checking for arriving trains — feigning annoyance at their lateness — or leaning against a post as they waited. Their numbers increased until, by the end, there was a virtual rush hour of fashion, with the eclectic soundtrack playing the “Happy Days” theme song as a finale.

Some of these commuters wore classic Chanel suits — perhaps with an “I (Heart) NY” T-shirt — and others, tweed coats, flowing black capes or brightly patterned skirts. All were intended to show off the craftsmanship involved.

“This felt like breaking the system,” said Stewart, speaking after the afternoon show. “I genuinely had an emotional response to the show. I felt like I just saw so many different versions of a person walking. It wasn't one woman."

Stewart, like others, had no idea going in what the show’s theme would be, and thought the subway environment felt like “a flurry of fleeting caught moments.”

“Like, ‘Where is she going?’ I wanted to go with them,” Stewart said. “I believed in it. All of this is artifice, but when you do a really good impression of the truth, you find your own. This felt real to me.”

It was real enough that Chanel had printed its own “newspaper” — called La Gazette — to accompany the show, with articles and interviews. An interview with Blazy quoted the designer as saying the collection was inspired partly by the 1931 visit to New York of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

And he sang the praises of the subway.

“It’s almost like it’s the vortex of the city," Blazy said. "It connects everything.”

Bowen Yang attends the CHANEL 2025/26 Métiers d'art fashion show at Bowery subway station, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the CHANEL 2025/26 Métiers d'art fashion show at Bowery subway station, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the CHANEL 2025/26 Métiers d'art fashion show at Bowery subway station on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the CHANEL 2025/26 Métiers d'art fashion show at Bowery subway station on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the CHANEL 2025/26 Métiers d'art fashion show at Bowery subway station on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)