Daily Front Row

2012 December 5

Great Scott! Chanel's Tartan Bonanza

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Chanel Pre-Fall 2013
Photo courtesy Chanel View Gallery

(EDINBURGH) Karl Lagerfeld may not be your average hatchet-wielding highlander, but last night Chanel's capitaine played the part of a country-bound noble Scotsman and then some. Chanel's tartan-filled Métiers d'Art show, held under a wooden awning at Edinburgh's Linlithgow Palace, was the talk of the royal manor. The front row? A glut of international faces, from French actress Amira Casar to Scottish actress Alicia Vikander, along with Lady Isabella Cawdor, Poppy Delevingne, and Amber Anderson. On the runway, glowing from strategically placed fire-pits, Stella Tennant set the medieval-meets-modern tone in a black wool overcoat lined in—you guessed it—red plaid.

A cacophony of checked separates followed suit in the form of tweedy court jester coats, riding trousers paired against 16th century jackets ballooning with voluminous sleeves, and a slew of nubby knits layered next to argyle tights and frilly ruffs. An apropos nod to Mary Queen of Scots, non? Even three-year-old Hudson Kroenig (Karl's teensy-weensy godson and Chanel's muse du moment) pitter patter-ed along in a quintessential Scottish kilt and bow-tie blouse atop like-patterned trousers and bejeweled Blackjack shoes. (Adorbs!) Later, model Cara Delevingne tweeted: "Wore a couture dress/biker boot/thermal underwear combo tonight - a first time for everything!" Indeed.

As for the refreshments? The Kaiser never skimps, darlings. Guests were served smoked salmon canapés and steaming cups of ginger and whiskey. And if that didn't wet your whistle, an intimate din was held after the show to the tunes of six bagpipers. Oh, the drame!