Carla, Keira, neon gloves… bienvenue to Chanel’s magical forest. Here’s what went down

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise... supermodels, celebrities and gold lame. Come inside the Chanel AW18 forest...

We all went down to the woods today (well, alright then, Paris’ Grand Palais) and we certainly got a big surprise. For the Chanel AW18 show – otherwise known as THE MAIN EVENT of Paris Fashion Week – we entered a double-C branded forest, carpeted in real leaves and filled with moss-covered trees.

‘Practical’ isn’t normally le bon mot for Karl Lagerfeld. But there’s no escaping it, he’s very much on a climate vibe of late. The rockets, computer control rooms and spinning globes screaming of Chanel’s almost intergalactic power have been replaced by a calmer, back to nature mood. Last season, it was all about the shiny trench coat, waterproof raingear and plastic macs, and today he’d turned his attention to outfits for a chilly autumn walk in the woods. Of course, lots of designers are thinking about the same things. But not many (or any) others can build waterfalls as seen at the Chanel SS18 show and forests to illustrate the point.

The Chanel AW18 Set

A melancholy, mellow fruitfulness filled the giant space, with cool silvery light falling through spindly tree branches and a smell of mossy late-autumn dew filling the air. Influencers posing for selfies were sinking into the mossy ground on their spike heels left, right and centre.

The Front Row

We nearly collided with Carla Bruni and Carine Roitfeld posing for a pic together, before crunching off to their seats in the Frow, alongside Keira Knightley, Lily Allen (hiding behind sunnies with a short blonde crop) and Lily Paradis.

The Show

As for the Chanel AW18 show, well – it certainly put a French couture spin on a brisk autumn walk. The girls all had hair pulled up into casual topknots and necks swathed in piles of scarves– just like us when we’re running out of the house with the dog! Sort of. The classic Chanel tweed was worked into long, slim skirt suits with splits up the front and a few fabulous exaggerated shoulders.

The Accessories

Chanel AW18 accessories came in the form of those scarves, flat gold lace-up shoes, flat gold knee-high boots, gold glittery tights and bright nearly-neon pink and orange fingerless gloves.

The Finale

A leaf print made an appearance – on a long, slim robe with tux lapels and a bell-sleeved dress – along with one of our favourite fashion notions of the whole season: an evening puffa. It was, of course, a very Karl take on the sports puffa mania sweeping the season.

High-necked and trimmed with sparkling tweed and gold buttons, it was worn over long black tulle evening dresses black lace evening dresses with giant drop earrings. No need to shiver in silence in your disco dress on a night out any more, fashion fans!

Karl popped out for a brief spot of audience adulation before the finale. See you at the park Mr Lagerfeld...