A Fashion Week Journal: AW13 Chanel

A Fashion Week Journal: AW13 Chanel

Today is the AW14 Chanel show and last year I was at the AW13 show which was probably was in my top 3 highlights last year.  I can't say it was my top because I was front row at Beyonce earlier this year but still, it's a joint 1st.  I've watched the Chanel show online for over 7 years now which in the scale of things isn't that long at all.  I've re watched them and I've just obsessed over them and you can't get any better than a Chanel show during Paris Fashion Week.  Because of this I find it hard to explain how amazing it was to see a Chanel show in person and it really was everything I had imagined.  It was quite funny too as I ended up getting lost and I managed to walk around the whole outside of the stage and find myself at the backstage room.  Luckily no-one noticed and I immediately left.  One thing I can say is do not mess at a Chanel show and even if you do, judging by the crazy amount of bodyguards backstage - there is no way you would be able to anyway.

Security of course is extremely tight and the only way your going to get in is through having an invite or of course being on the list.  This doesn't stop people from trying and praying they are on the list and there is always a huge amount of people outside the venue just to soak up the atmosphere which is surreal and unreal.  You can practically smell the money these people have and if you can't then you can either see it invested in their clothes, accessories, shoes and bags or of course in their face.  I would say it's a world that I've grown to love but that's not true, I've always loved this strange fashion world pros and cons included.

Before:  People leave and come back freely before the show and some will sit down straight away and others will have a chat among themselves.  Milla Jovovich was just one of the lucky people sat on the front row and of course everyone was edging to get a photograph of her.  Gifts are given out to people as they enter the venue and on your seat you will typically find a booklet with an A4 lookbook within of the looks.  Last season these were shot by Karl himself.  Many other fashion shows can be so over crowded by the Chanel show manages to have just the right amount of people within the venue and so they should as they probably have the most experienced PR team around.

During:  I should note here that the globe within the centre rotated slowly around during the whole time of which you could see lit up Chanel flags in the locations of their stores around the world.  I find things like this fascinating and it really was interesting to see where Chanel stores were and where they were not.  As the show starts the lights change and the heavy loud music of the show begins.  It's the type of music that you hear at a concert or festival where the music feels like it's going through your whole body and then the first model comes out.  Every Chanel show is different of course and here models walked around in a circle and then stopping in front of the photographers pit for a split second.  The show is incredibly fast and you can see just what it is like in the video I recorded at the bottom.  This video shows 3 different parts of the Chanel show so make sure you watch the whole 57 seconds!  

And of course the music you can hear is a remixed track of 'Around the world' by Daft Punk - which I found interesting as the music they play in the online videos of Chanel isn't the same as the show they play in the venue.

After:  It can take over 30 minutes for people to sit down initially and to leave it takes all of 10 minutes max.  People leave in hordes and they explode out of the venue like any other show.  It's always weird seeing a place fill up so quickly and empty so fast and your see this in any venue or show.  It was an experience that I cannot sum up in words and it wouldn't have been possible without my friends of which I will be forever thankful for.