Editor’s note: Vogue Runway is closing out the decade by adding six archival Chanel shows to our collections archive. They honor the memory of Karl Lagerfeld, the giant and prolific talent who designed them, and speak to the 2010s obsession with all things 1990s. These shows might be pre-internet, but they contain many Instagrammable moments. Do share.
Guests arrived at Chanel’s spring 1996 show to find a giant globe sitting at the end of the runway. When the lights went down, it split open to reveal Claudia Schiffer, Karl Lagerfeld’s muse at the time. What did it symbolize? That the Chanel codes had gone “viral”? Or that the house was at the center of the fashion galaxy? In the end, it acted like a prop against which the designer played with the ideas of casual dressing and escapism.
Months after this collection was shown, Vogue published “Fear of Fridays,” an article that spoke about the tailspin caused by the spread of the casual-Friday concept in business, one that gave rise to a new, more comfortable work uniform built around chinos. Lagerfeld swapped out the preppy blue blazer for a pastel one, added a cropped T-shirt (which was certainly not work appropriate at that time) and a belt or two, et voilà! Casual chic the Chanel way.
Having given a slight tomboy twist to ladylike separates, Lagerfeld took things up or down a notch—depending on how you look at it—in the casual stakes. A denim story was followed by a sportier sun-and-sand section that included nylon beach shorts. Amber Valletta’s were paired with a bikini “top” made out of logoed pasties that were tentatively held in place with a slender string. Hey, they would have been safe for Instagram. More traditional swimwear was on offer as well. A Vogue article titled “Taste Test” suggested that “Lagerfeld was doing a nice little send-up of the trashy glamour of Baywatch.” The following section anticipated Juicy Couture by nearly a decade; it consisted of logoed velour pieces—including tracksuits.
Propriety ruled in the end. The show concluded with a series of evening looks that were somewhat early ’60s in their silhouettes, all in white shantung and trimmed with sequined florals.
