After seasons of elaborate backdrops and themes (the supermarket, the feminist protest, the brasserie), what did Karl Lagerfeld do next at Chanel? Strip it all back, of course.
For the first time in memory, Karl Lagerfeld chose not to show a Chanel collection on an fantastical set.
Instead, he reimagined the Grand Palais as a salon, in which everyone sat front row, with the absence of an extravagant backdrop allowing our eyes to focus on the clothes.
All of this, the morning after Hedi Slimane, known for his splashy runway productions, chose to show Saint Laurent in a much more scaled back salon setting. So all the discussion about the broken fashion system has clearly sparked a change in mood that is impacting not just the clothes, but the way they are shown.
Not to say the event was without its social media moments. Here is everything to know from the Chanel AW16 show...
1) The big pink
One of the collection's main colour stories, Karl worked with a range of variations of pink — from a pale shade of candy floss to a bold, bright fuschia. His offerings were the latest in a long line of examples we've seen this month of how the colour can be quite grown-up, rather than girlish and punk, rather than saccharine. It also put an exclamation mark on the trend for AW16.
2) Get into the pearls, girls
Coco Chanel was a woman of many signatures, and it was her unique flair for accessorising that Karl explored most successfully here.
He took her trademark string of pearls and showed them long, in big proportions, and multilayered over reworkings of the brand's key pieces: the tweed suit (this time it has a slightly longer jacket and knee-length skirt, with slits up the sides) and dress (again longer, with raw, frayed hems.)
Sturdy, stomping riding boots, which had laced-up cut-outs at the ankles to mirror the laced-up cut-outs on the midriffs of a selection dresses, gave the pearls and suiting a more youthful edge.
Even the bowler hats, one of the most recognisable Coco-isms of all, got a cool update, with curved lines and pearl-embellished straps.
3) Quilted and hooded
The puffer coat, long associated with street wear, seems to be replacing the shearling jacket as the luxury world's outerwear of choice. Following stellar options at Balenciaga and Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld showed luxe, cropped and oversized versions in, yes, pale pink. And you know what they say about three making a trend...
4) A blonde Pharrell Williams was there
Sitting front row with his very chic wife, Helen Lasichanh.
5) Kris Jenner, Jada Pinkett and Willow Smith were there too
Willow, who today was announced as the brand's newest ambassador, wore black nails and a very Lagerfeld black glove. Kris, also dressed in black, and with the world's tallest bodyguard in tow, cheered on Kendall who walked in the show.
