PARIS, Jan 23, 2008 /FR/--- The fantastic glass roof of the Grand Palais has now become a landmark during the presentations of the Paris Haute Couture and the house of Chanel has used this venue many times before to display both this highest seaming expression of French luxury and their ready-to wear line. But in this Haute Couture season Chanel was the only house to show on these premises.

Yesterday morning, at the centre of the round arena imagined by Karl Lagerfeld to present Chanel Haute Couture collection for Spring 2008, a beige sculpture was standing, erect. The statue was nothing less than a sky-high plaster rendering of the famous Chanel suit jacket, placed on a circular revolving stage. A split at the bottom of the plaster idol was to be the models’ exit on the runway for the season’s celebration of the cult to what is supposed to be the utmost icon of modern, politically correct elegance.

From this strange mausoleum, came out models who were all wearing ballet flats for footwear, a complete novelty for the famous rue Cambon-based house.

It could be that the idea behind these flat shoes was aiming at giving a breeze of fresh air, of added youth to the brand’s DNA, and it did it so on the first three exits consisting only of different versions of the famous suit jacket worn with mid-thigh skirts draped to form a very high split over one leg.

However, the ballet flats were really too systematically used in the looks, and certainly not flattering for the silhouette in the department of long evening dressmaking. Floor-length dresses of organza, muslin and tulle have never been Mr. Lagerfeld’s forte at Chanel, I guess this season their silhouette was really sacrificed on the altar of the compulsory flat shoes. Obviously, their execution and finishings are just the best the house’s haute couture ateliers can provide, a reference in fact, but their design looked either miser on the tulle, too heavy on the embroideries, or too uneven in proportions on a long asymmetrical sheath of draped black taffeta.

A jacket the colour of a scarab with a sticking out “basque” all around made a statement in the direction of futurism, but it was too scarce an innovation to show a consistent move in the design direction.

Of course Karl Lagerfeld, always better on the tailor section, seems to be inexhaustible when it comes to interpreting variations over the famous suit jacket, but it might be no longer sufficient. The déjà vu show looked very much like a reassuring play to an audience of preconquered dupes, content with seeing the famous double C logo and ready to pay a fortune for pieces of wonderful execution but overrated conception.

Had any young designer produced with such means the same collection, he would probably have been an easy target for the press. But the respect for Mr. Lagerfeld’s canonic age and the power of the Parisian house can make wonders on the pseudo connoisseurs of high fashion.

To some informed Haute Couture habitués, the enormous statue mixed with this no novelty collection sounded more like an overstatement, overrating self-celebration. In short, Chanel might want to show it has the biggest cock in luxury fashion, it’s still not horny!

The famous sprinkling of dry white shampoo over the creative director’s hair did not look good under the unforgiving light of the glass roof as he took his bow and really stressed that time has come for a changing of the guards.