It’s an atmosphere of calm and serenity that emanates from the Grand Palais last Tuesday on January 26th. Within a large neat garden, at the bottom of which sits a beautiful wooden house, Karl Lagerfeld celebrates nature with the CHANEL Spring-Summer 2016 Haute Couture collection.

Lightweight materials and natural colours define this springtime wardrobe where embroidery composed from fragments and shavings of wood mingle with bees embroidered onto tulle or mounted as costume jewellery. Beige, so emblematic of the House holds pride of place, “Gabrielle Chanel was the Queen of beige”, states Karl Lagerfeld who proposes a large palette of beiges: ecru, ivory, sand, dove, putty, taupe and mocha.

The models meander through this islet of greenery with hair coiled into chignons and cork platform two-tone shoes on their feet. Around their waists they wear a smartphone pouch to match their outfit.

“The starting point for this collection was the silhouette”, declares Karl Lagerfeld. Playing with inverted volumes he focuses on short tweed jackets with oval sleeves, worn with long pencil skirts, or fitted jackets coupled with full skirts or flared culottes.

With every passing look, the delicacy of the materials is illustrated on blouses, skirts and ethereal dresses. Chiffon is deftly worked into flat, “drum”, “peacock” or “January” pleats, while lamé organza is twisted into regular pleats.

For evening the silhouette opts for strapless dresses or trousers with a train complemented by painted capes with rhinestones, wide-cut boleros or embroidered jackets. Satin charmeuse dresses, backless or with a plunging décolleté, have a loose line. The ode to nature continues with a dress whose sleeves are embroidered with feathered bees, a countrified dress embroidered with little flowers and a sheath dress embroidered with wooden birds.

Queen of this rediscovered nature, the bride appears dressed in a geometric lace strapless dress embroidered with bursts of chiffon, leather, wood shavings, beads and rhinestones, kept warm by a hooded jacket with a train.

An Haute Couture collection applauded by the actresses Diane Kruger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Monica Bellucci, Cara Delevingne and Marine Vacth.