Cruise diary: Floating in Le Cap d’Antibes with Chanel (and Karl, Carine, Alexa and Freja)

By Laura deCarufel

It was always going to be major, the kind of major that connotes italics and inspires emails with the subject line “OMG”—or, more accurately, “Oh mon Dieu.” Last night’s Chanel Cruise 2012 show was a heavenly—and très French—affair.

For starters, the location: The fabled Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, perched on a cliff in the south of France, has the vibe of a continental Gatsby mansion, complete with cream hue, palm trees, and a pathway-cum-runway leading from the terraced steps down to a rock wall overlooking an infinity pool.

Tables with striped umbrellas were set up along the runway so that everyone had a front row seat. Waiting for the show to begin, I sipped chilled Perrier-Jouet and watched the other guests smoke and double-kiss. Most of them were wearing Chanel, and all of them were wearing it differently. A French reporter dressed up a pair of jeans with a black lace dress accessorized only with a cigarette. Princess Caroline of Monaco chose a monochromatic ivory look (satin blouse and trousers), while screen stars Anna Mouglalis and Vanessa Paradis were chic in classic black.

Alexa Chung and newly anointed It girl Poppy Delevigne represented the spectrum of Brit style on display: Alexa in a romantic three-quarter length rose dress, and Poppy in navy tweed hot pants. Modesty? Mais non, but as other partygoers commented, With legs like that, who needs it?

The show itself was an exercise in ladylike chic. Classic Chanel tweed appeared in belted yellow suits and three-quarter length black-and-white sheaths. The show’s most referenced hue? White. I loved it all, but I loved Kristen McMenemy best, with her long grey hair swept into a messy updo, wearing a perfect full-length ivory satin coat, and leading a phalanx of top male models, including Mark Vanderloo and Brad Kroenig. Watching her, nose ring flashing in the Cote d’Azur sun, I understood fashion’s obsession with the word “fierce” for the first time.

After the show, we headed down to the terrace, where Karl Lagerfeld’s ponytail was silhouetted against the darkening pink clouds as he gave interviews outside the restaurant. When it grew dark, the designer’s short film, A Tale of A Fairy, began playing on a screen over the infinity pool. Super stylish and nonsensical, it features Chanel muses—Kristen McMenemy, Anna Mouglasis, Amanda Harlech and Freja Beha Ericsen as the titular sprite— arguing and dancing in a French mansion. (Sample line: “Release the corset, sweetheart, and stop being so uptight.”)

The credits rolled to raucous applause, and then moments later, the private concert with Bryan Ferry began. “A special thank you to Karl and the Chanel team!” Ferry shouted, as the spotlight illuminated the designer, who was smiling enigmatically and flanked by Carine Roitfeld and Princess Caroline of Monaco. The only sweeter sight of the evening? Karlie Kloss delicately dipping skewered marshmallows into a chocolate fountain.

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