“This is technology. But with the lingerie, it’s intimate technology!” Karl Lagerfeld's description of Chanel’s spring show was typical of him—a mad linguistic paradox. What does lace-trimmed silk underwear have to do with a runway set constructed as a giant mainframe computer? Watching the show, the mind rushed to and fro trying to solve that problem. Was Lagerfeld thinking about how large corporations gather consumer behavior statistics in order to develop products? Could this be an imagined Chanel “mothermind” hidden somewhere the behind the Rue Cambon, processing global data on the attractiveness of camellias, quilted leather, tweed, and No5? Maybe the two alien-suit-clad Chanel-bots who opened the show were actually running it?
And what of the “intimate technology”? Was it a reference to the significant bond between the everywoman and her smartphone screen? The constant swiping we all do, in the privacy of whatever state of dress or undress we’re in, at all times of the day and night? Brain freeze soon sets in when tackling such Lagerfeldian conundrums. It was far better to relax and look at the mega-data streaming along the runway.
Today’s fashion isn’t linear anymore. That much is for sure. We’re in an era when everything can happen, all at the same time. And that’s how it was here—in a big way. It included everything from tweeds twinkling with crystal and plastic and vibrant silk prints to pretty frothy chiffon sundresses, medallion necklaces, and a whole palette of summery colors. And among it all was a funny 3D Chanel robot bag, the souvenir of the season.
