The hair was a beehive disintegrating into a haystack. The eyes had a dark, decadent flick of liner. The bag flagged its Cool Britannia connection with a Union Jack pattern.
Was this wild rocker look in honor of Amy Winehouse, she of the updated Brigitte Bardot hairstyle, multi-tattoos and Grammy nominations? Would the troubled but most lauded singer of her generation actually perform on the set Chanel had rigged up for its "Paris-Londres" fashion show last week?
In fact, it was model-turned-rocker Irina Lazareanu, one of Karl Lagerfeld's favorite incarnations of Coco Chanel, who took the microphone, while Sean Lennon and his band created a cacophony of sound.
Yet Amy met Coco in the clothes. They were mostly long and dark, shown with flat shoes but highlighted with Gothic crosses, gilded lace gloves or just a fringed front to a maxi tweed coat to express Winehouse's edgy unraveling.
The details were the story of this bizarre show and the reason why Lagerfeld and his Chanel entourage had hosted a star-studded dinner at London's Nobu restaurant, decorated the city's iconic black cabs with "Chanel" and staged a first big show in England's capital.
The "Métiers d'Art" collection is designed to showcase a collaboration with specialist Paris ateliers dedicated to such haute arts as feather decoration, embroidery, jewels and shoes. Since Chanel acquired these heritage ateliers in 2002, the skills of the seven decorative artists have been shown around the world from Paris to Monte Carlo, New York and Tokyo.
"It is a dream for Chanel to go to London - but I don't come so often because I only go to cities where I work," said Lagerfeld, citing Coco's historic 1920s connections with English style, gleaned from her relationships with "Boy" Capel, who financed the aspiring designer's hat shop in Deauville; and with the Duke of Westminster, who introduced her to the luxury of jewelry and whose sportswear for playing polo inspired the simple Chanel jersey suits that made fashion history.
François Lesage, of the couture embroidery house, and Raymond Massaro, the haute bottier, or custom shoemaker, both had their own English memories. Lesage recalled embroidered dresses for Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's fashion-conscious sister, who adored Parisian chic but had to conceal her extravagances as she was supposed to support the British dressmakers. Massaro recalled "la grande époque" of shoeing the Duchess of Windsor and the countesses of Bismarck and d'Erlanger.
"The duchess was very rigorous and demanding," Massaro said. "I can see her feet, not too big, slightly deformed because she was so thin, but very elegant in afternoon shoes in two different fabrics."
If any of those royal connections and historical encounters had inspired the show, they were hidden under the big hair and rocker attitude. Yet Lagerfeld had taken over one floor of the auction house of Phillips de Pury near London's Victoria Station, to show what he described as "another royal residence." That meant a series of romantic and mysterious black and white photographs of the Palace of Versailles at its most misty and melancholy, showing Lagerfeld's other skill behind the lens.
The most regal thing about the show were the chairs, designed by Lagerfeld, with a high-rise back topped with a coat hanger, crested with the double "C" Chanel emblem (which some of the naughty guests were unscrewing as a take-home souvenir).
What would clients for this special, out-of-season collection have hung on their chairs? Perhaps the slender gown in the faded gilt of a decaying stately home; or a black satin dress with tucks so tiny that Beatrix Potter's fairy tale "Tailor of Gloucester" might have sewn them.
Or what about the ultimate in laid-back English aristocratic style: the humble cardigan. Except that in the "Paris-Londres" show, that had mutated into an ultrachic, purple-bordered, gilt-buttoned sweater set.
The show could have used some modernist high-tech projections - the techno skills that Prada does so well - to zoom in on the details. A folder of Lagerfeld photographs showed the intense craftsmanship. But as the buried treasures hustled by, it was impossible to gauge how many hours of work had been put in by the "magnificent seven," who include Lemarié, the feather artisan; the costume jeweler Desrues; Goosens, the silversmith; Michel, the milliner, and Guillet, the floral designer.
Clients looking for exceptional pieces will be able to view and purchase this special collection when it goes into Chanel stores in June, as über-high-end prêt-à-porter (at a cost halfway between ready-to-wear and couture).
To wit, these coquettish gray ankle-strap sandals that play a flirty game of peep-toe peek-a-boo.
And for an edgier take on holiday-appropriate accessorizing, try these strappy pink open toe pumps. They’re a little bit bondage with that 4 1/2″ heel and all the straps and strategic cut-outs. Who knows, perhaps they’ll end the night on your boudoir floor.
