Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2012

Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2012 Takes Off in Out-Of-This-World Style

No ordinary fashion show venue ever seems to satisfy Karl Lagerfeld. So for the Chanel spring/ summer 2012 haute couture collection, presented Jan. 24 at the Grand Palais in Paris, guests were seated in what appeared to be a jumbo jet, complete with airplane windows, faux overhead bins and champagne carts rolling up the aisle.

Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, seated on the aisle, called the setting “an out of this world experience.”

For “Inglorious Basterds” star Diane Kruger, Chanel provided a grand finale to her haute couture fashion show viewing. She said she had seen Christian Dior and Giambattista Valli the previous day and as she was due for a photo shoot at Versailles, Chanel would be her last show. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” she said of the photo session for the film, “Farewell My Queen,” at the French palace. (Kruger stars as the “queen” – Marie Antoinette.)

As I walked down the airplane aisle beside Cameron Diaz, the star of “Knight and Day” mentioned a few “to die for” fashions she had already seen in the Paris shows. So I asked if she was a Chanel fan, too. She replied, “Oh, yes,” with emphasis on the “yes.”

Fittingly enough for this flight of fashion, cocktail dresses and gowns came in shades of blue – from the palest sky blues to deepest navy. And just as the show didn’t skimp on the setting, fashions were lavished with exquisite beadwork and the type of hand-crafted details that distinguish the very best of haute couture.

Photos, from top: British model Alice Dellal, left, and Cameron Diaz take their seats in Chanel’s jumbo jet; Diane Kruger in the aisle before the Chanel haute couture spring 2012 collection