Chanel, Shanghai

SHANGHAI—To much of the world outside of China, Shanghai is more an idea and a fantasy than an actual physical city with its 20 million souls. In Chanel's Paris-Shanghai Métiers d'Art Collection and an accompanying film that made its debut in Shanghai Thursday night, Karl Lagerfeld explores exclusively and unapologetically the imagined and the exotic. “It is about the idea of China, not the reality,” Lagerfeld said on his first trip to Shanghai. “It has the spirit of, and is inspired by, but is unrelated to China. It is not authentic like a Peking Opera or something.”

That disclaimer of any connection to actual China and Shanghai allowed Lagerfeld creative and interpretive freedom with the film and the collection. “Coco Chanel never came to China, so they imagine the trip she never made, a fantasy of her coming to Shanghai in the Thirties and Forties and during the Cultural Revolution,” said Lagerfeld. “Shanghai has a very special reputation, very different from other Chinese cities.”

The show featured 71 looks and took place on a custom-built barge with a glass front facing out onto Pudong’s famous futuristic skyscrapers. The boat remained stationary during the show, which began with a screening of the film “It is a great idea to do it on a boat, with Shanghai in the background. It is quite unreal in a way,” said Lagerfeld.

Some looks from the Paris-Shanghai Metiers d'Art Collection

     

(Source: style.com)

I was watching the Opening of the East Asian Game. I like the idea of having HK's night scenery as the backdrop. Then Chanel got the Oriental Pearl Tower as the backdrop of this show.