Lagerfeld, 85, who has looked increasingly frail in recent seasons, did not come out to take a bow at the house’s couture collections in Paris because he was “tired”.
In his place, his long-time studio director Virginie Viard appeared through a door in the lavish Italian villa decor that had been painstakingly created by the fashion house.
It immediately prompted surprise and visible sadness from many fashion editors attending the show at the Grand Palais.
At the end of the first show at 10am, an announcement explained that the designer would appear for the noon presentation. But come noon, the German-born couturier was absent again.
It’s the first time in recent memory that Lagerfeld, who has designed for the Parisian stalwart since 1983 and was a contemporary of the late Yves Saint Laurent, has not been physically present to receive applause at the end of a show.
In a statement, Chanel said “for the traditional greeting at the end of the show, Mr Lagerfeld, artistic director of Chanel, who was feeling tired [asked Viard] to represent him” – without providing any further details.
Villa Chanel’s couture
A gentle geometry defined Chanel’s summer silhouette on Tuesday – one that riffed on the decor’s impressive architecture.
The set this season featured a shimmering Italian Chanel villa centre stage, with steps that led the gaze down to myriad real palm trees, grass and a rectangular pool.
Shivering and dripping guests were momentarily transported away from Paris’ sub-zero temperatures and snow to enjoy a moment of summer bliss, and the clothes’ pastel hues glistened in floodlights evoking warm sunshine.
Slits in the skirt and long vertical lines in the centre of the body were a central theme in this season’s feminine 62-look collection.
A silvery skirt-suit, a house signature, opened the show with a slit running down the leg to the season’s new shoe: a backless pointed heel with a full-fronted panel.
Regal full-skirts that caught director Sofia Coppola’s eye fared less well as the display progressed, with the weight of the tiered silk fabric making the designs look somewhat limp.
The slit also morphed into an exploration of unfurling styles in some jackets that seemed to open up like the scented flowers in the villa’s verdant gardens.
Yet there was a pernicious feeling that this show lacked some artistic direction.
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