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NEVER have so many women been so delighted to walk into a grocery store. Well, a <a href=”http://www.vogue.co.uk/brand/chanel”>Chanel Shopping Centre to be exact. This morning, at god only knows what cost, Karl Lagerfeld had magically transformed the Grand Palais into a full-scale supermarket – his shelf stackers must have been working all night.
Amongst shouty discount posters and aisle signs for easy product navigation, here was Chanel-branded everything, from door mats, to Pringles, to Coco Pops, to bath salts – everything, even, an entire DIY aisle of hard hats, high-vis vests, paint pots, and chainsaws. Half-filled plastic trolleys were dotted about as awe-struck guests meandered their way through to their seats.
To the sound of glossy pop, Lady Gaga and remixes of Rihanna, models, carrying shopping baskets made of Chanel chains, or the quilted leather classic, which had been vacuum-packed as though it were a pack of lamb chops, strode out browsing the shelves before congregating in groups of twos or threes, helping one another with purchases, picking up a mop here, a box of cereal there, filling those abandoned trolleys and pushing them about. It was a typical supermarket scene, just with fabulously turned-out shoppers.
Candy-coloured tweed suiting came layered over purple glittery tops and metallic jeans. Elsewhere, tissue-thin leather tracksuit trousers were partnered up with sporty quilted cropped jackets, all set off with sneakers – some extending to boots – padlock necklaces or multi-strand pearls and full ponytails streaming in tweed rags. It was a youthful mash-up of desirables, women from 18 to 80 will find something to fall in love with.
A tannoy announcement came out overhead: “The shopping centre will be closing shortly, please help yourself to the complimentary fruit and veg and please come again.” The only sour note happened after: a fashion frenzy smash and grab. It was the most undignified of scrums where even several esteemed editors thought it appropriate to loot. Temptation and desire is one thing, greed, another.
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