The Chanel show takes place today in Paris and with it will come a bevy of beautifully dressed stars, arriving at the Grand Palais to see what Karl Lagerfeld has dreamed up this time. At the helm of the formidable French house for more than three decades, he continues to mesmerize with his designs, with his fanciful sets—and with his equally well-appointed front row. Past seating charts blended stylish actresses Blake Lively, Keira Knightley, andKristen Stewart with members of the cool French girl contingent including Caroline de Maigret, Elisa Sednaoui, and Vanessa Paradis.
But it’s not just the Paris Match set and Hollywood’s A-list that frequent Lagerfeld’s lavishly staged productions: Chanel's front row often reads like a hybrid of Le Figaro and The Social Register with French intelligentsia and political figures such as Bernadette Chirac, Ambassador Charles Rivkin and Susan Tolson, and Valérie Trierweiler seated next to society swans—Lynn Wyatt, Danielle Steel (accompanied by daughters Vanessa Traina and Victoria Traina), and**Ivana Trump.** Melding all facets of culture together for a runway show—several times a year—is an admirable balancing act of proportions that only Lagerfeld has been able to master. And it goes on: Mingling amongst the bright young ingenués of the silver screen from both America and France, including Clémence Poésy, Dakota Fanning, and Hailee Steinfeld, are musicians Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Florence Welch. Naturally, the audience wouldn’t be complete without some gents in the mix too. Lagerfeld’s men of the moment? Jared Leto (who donned several pieces from the Paris-Dallas Métiers d’Art collection in July), Kanye West (even before he became half of Kimye), and Theophilus London. Today we'll be keeping one eye on the clothes, one eye on the front row.
