Caged Paradise by Creation Studio

There's no news about a new designer at Chanel, but there is a perfectly excellent collection that won surprisingly big applause at the end of the house's latest show at the Grand Palais on Tuesday morning.

Created by an in-house 'Creation Studio', the sheer professionalism of the clothing suggested that whoever made the decisions was clearly no slouch. For the second consecutive Chanel show, since Virginie Viard's abrupt departure in June, no one took a bow at the end.

The show also marked Chanel's return to the Royal Palace after several years, as the famous 19th-century exhibition space was restored for the Paris Olympics.

Instead of an elaborate stage, an audience of 2,200 sat on simple white folding chairs. Making it the biggest show of Paris Fashion Week, which ends today. Under the ship and its gigantic glass verrière, there was an all-white bird cage 20 meters high, through which the cast paraded. Coco Chanel, legend has it, was given a birdcage by one of her seamstresses, which later led to a famous 1991 advertising campaign for the Coco fragrance, where Vanessa Paradis played a Tweety inside one.

Quite a different cast and noticeably more inclusive (certainly, in terms of body shape) than any Chanel show to date.

Plus, the study was brave: it took a lot of risks, most of which they succeeded. Starting with Chanel suits, with a new jacket with a Peter Pan collar, surprising skirts with side slits or even shorts. There was even a wool bouclé bomber jacket that shouldn't have worked, but did. Like many jackets, it was trimmed with white feathers.

The pantsuits with huge trousers and leather aviator doublets were rather formulaic, even if they symbolized the aviators of the roaring twenties, when Coco made Chanel world famous. But then the show picked up steam again at cocktail hour, with a long series of veiled creations: mixes of bouclé boleros or vests topped with layers of chiffon; or very elegant bouclé coat dresses, sleeveless and with a chopped rooster feather collar that any woman would love to wear. Additionally, Chanel capitalized on the current mega trend of semi-sheer evening looks, playfully crafted in sorbet tones, like the lingerie seen below. A feeling of liberation and escaping the cage, which Coco would have liked.

See catwalk

“People have always wanted to cage me; Cages with inflated cushions of promises, golden cages, cages that I have touched without looking. I never wanted another than the one I would build myself,” said Gabrielle Chanel in a note left on each seat, taken from 'Memoires de Coco' by Louise de Vilmorin.

To be honest, one was not at all impressed with some rather rough weaving; crochet dresses that are too baggy; nor by the platforms with a rear tip. Also, seeing Vanessa Paradis and a nervous group of lackeys hurriedly escorted to a second row after 20 glances seemed very silly. Tweety returns to the chicken coop late.

But once again, the show gained momentum with a clever series of trilogies: three looks in the same fabric. Best of all: a black and white ice cube print seen on pantsuits, dresses and cocktails.

At the end, singer Riley Keough came out all dressed in black, microphone in hand, singing 'When Doves Cry', circling the cage before carefully holding on to her seat and rising into the air. The plaster finally formed around him in a circle.

These past few days, there's been a lot of speculation on Instagram from young commenters that the house was supposedly “on communication blackout” with the new designer's impending announcement.

But when asked about Chanel's future plans, the house's president of fashion and accessories, Bruno Pavlovsky, responded with a smile: “One day at a time, today is the show.”

At the end, Prince's classic song blared as the cast exited, before falling silent. At that moment, an avalanche of applause, in what seemed a palpable expression of support for the house from French editors and writers, along with hundreds of wealthy clients.

It would be difficult to overstate how much Chanel – the crown jewel of French luxury – means to a certain type of Frenchman. And the fact that, without a creative director in charge, the house could create such a smart professional collection was met with collective joy.

Leaving everyone at this show in exuberant mood, including Chanel's owners, the silent legends Alain and Gerard Wertheimer. When asked about the future direction of the design, Gerald replied, “There is no news,” before Alain added, “and everything is going very well.”