chanel karl lagerfeld

Famous for his sharp tongue and quick wit, veteran designer Karl Lagerfeld is not one you would associate with a supermarket. Yet, the arena of mass consumption was exactly what he had in store for the sartorial crowd at the recent Paris Fashion Week in March.

The 80-year-old cemented his standing as the King of High Fashion Quirk in French luxury brand Chanel’s ready-to-wear show, staged in a sprawling supermarket set built for the event held at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Chief of Chanel Karl Lagerfeld, with supermodel Cara Delevingne, walking down his supermarket runway.
Chief of Chanel Karl Lagerfeld, with supermodel Cara Delevingne, walking down his supermarket runway.

Lagerfeld, who had reportedly never stepped into a supermarket up till 2012, stocked shelf after shelf with items ranging from Eau de Chanel bottled water and wine from Chateau Coco, all emblazoned with the house’s trademark double-C logo.

As if to prove that fashionistas aren’t beyond trawling a supermarket, he had models, including a “husband-and-wife” duo, walk through aisles picking up necessaries, decked top to toe in – what else? – Chanel togs.

“The last time, we did an art gallery which was a supermarket for the super-rich,” the fashion kingpin said after the spectacle, referring to Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2014 show, where he transformed the aforementioned Grand Palais into a giant museum, a la the Louvre. “(The Chanel Shopping Centre) is a rich supermarket for everybody, the rich included.”

Dressing up to go marketing? It was all part of the act, of course, but – so typical of Kaiser Karl – deliciously decadent.

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