Linlithgow Palace — the semiroofless, crumbling Scottish castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, was born — was the venue Karl Lagerfeld transformed for his annual Chanel Métiers d'Art collection Tuesday night.
"I like the idea of Mary Stuart, as a former Queen of France who became a kind of fashion icon of another period than Chanel, who was a kind of Queen of French fashion, too," Lagerfeld said of why he chose the location. "I like the encounter — it never happened, it never could happen — but I like the idea of those two women involved with Scotland in very different ways."
Lagerfeld uses his Pre-Fall collections as an opportunity to highlight Chanel's craftsmanship, and this offering, filled with '90s shapes and layering that pointed to grunge, was heavy on colorful knitwear produced by the Scottish mill Barrie. Argyle was featured prominently and appeared on pullover sweaters and stockings, and one oversize cardigan modeled by Scottish-born Stella Tennant combined Fair Isle patterns with colorful tweeds. Four-year-old Hudson Kroenig, who walked down the runway with his model father, Brad, wore a tartan kilt.
To underscore the inspiration, Lagerfeld staged bagpipe players outside of the show. Inside the drafty space, attendees kept warm with knit blankets and fires set inside the square runway.
We're willing to bet all those layers of wool kept the models pretty warm, too. A look at the show, here in the gallery.
