Chanel’s show is a visual reminder of the brand’s status as a timeless and powerful force in Parisian culture.
Nobody does fashion shows like Chanel. The luxury French fashion house proved it yet again when it held its spring/summer 2025 show at the Grand Palais during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The exhibition hall-and-museum complex is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris that reflects the historical, economic, and cultural evolutions in France. Built for the World’s Fair of 1900, the Grand Palais is recognizable by its majestic glass-domed roof with the flag of France on top.
In 2021, the historical site was closed for extensive renovations that amounted to €466 million (P26 billion). Of this, €25 million (P1.6 billion) was funded by none other than the global fashion powerhouse of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
The Grand Palais is set to officially reopen in the spring of 2025, but the complex temporarily resumed operations last July to host events in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games. Most recently, Chanel returned to the Palais for its spring-summer 2025 show, being the luxury brand’s preferred setting for the past two decades.
The Palais has since been celebrated not only for its significance in France’s history, but also for its architectural beauty. Chanel’s return to the stately venue is an ode to the brand’s century-old status as a timeless and powerful force in Parisian culture.
“Our relationship with the Grand Palais is part of our legend,” Chanel President for Fashion Bruno Pavlovsky said in an interview with The Guardian before the show. “These things have to do with status, if I may say so.”
It’s an alliance that is proving to transcend time, with the nave entrance now named after Coco. According to WWD, the plaque bearing the couturier’s name was unveiled during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Palais to mark the 100 days before the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Chanel returned to the Art Nouveau landmark for its Paris Fashion Week show with a theme that combines the concept of lightness and flight with the label’s vibrant past.
It designed the newly refurbished Belle Epoque to resemble an aviary, with a giant white birdcage at the center — an installation that complemented Chanel’s spring-summer 2025 collection that has plumes and feathers aplenty.
The birdcage was scaled for a golden eagle and almost reached the 45-meter ceiling of the Palais — a visual reminder of how the fashion powerhouse has grown into a $20 billion business since it was founded in Coco’s Paris apartment in 1910.
In addition, the towering installation is inspired by Chanel’s iconic bird-on-a-swing advertisement from 1992 which starred singer Vanessa Paradis with her black tail feathers.
The show opened with Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough performing Prince’s 1984 hit “When Doves Cry.” She was lifted on a swing inside the cage, wearing an all-black ensemble that comes with an airy cape.
Models sashayed down a path that went around the cage and the nave which is a fitting symbolism for Chanel’s long history. They paraded a collection filled with fantasy qualities, particularly feathers, which was a favorite of Coco.
Feathers took on a central role in the collection, adding flair to convent-inspired black and white ensembles. A subtle sense of movement was evoked from a black satin organza shirtdress embroidered with large feathers, while a set of black sheer blouse and trousers were bedecked with faux ostrich feathers and silver studs.
Tweeds came in the form of shorts, mini-skirts, dresses, and loose trousers that were decorated with fringes, bows, lightweight capes, and of course, plumes. Tufts of feathers were likewise used in ruff-like collars on crocheted cardigans and on 1920s-style gowns.
Among the standout pieces is a sky-blue and white cape adorned with feathers and chiffon petals and worn over embroidered jeans. There’s also the flapper-style dress that has each layer bedecked with tassels. Both these ensembles reflect the brand’s talent for blending couture with easy, everyday wear for the modern woman.
Further embodying Coco’s fancy for feathers and flights are the quills that adorned the sides of the collection’s sunglasses, as well as the adorable birdcage mini-bags and quilted backpacks that added whimsy to the ensembles.
The collection was designed by Chanel’s studios while it awaits a new creative director following Virginie Viard’s departure from the brand. Viard took over after Karl Lagerfeld’s death in 2019.
Fresh on the heels of Chanel’s spring/summer 2025 show, the French fashion icon committed to being the Palais’ exclusive patron for the next five years. The deal came with a €30 million donation from the Chanel Culture Fund, which has been supporting cultural institutions and art innovators all over the world since 2021.
