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Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Towering mushrooms adorn Grand Palais for Chanel couture show
www.dezeen.com: French fashion house Chanel filled Paris's Grand Palais with Alice in Wonderland-style mushrooms and real trees, which created a runway for the brand's Spring Summer 2026 haute couture show.
8 comments:
Arden
said...
First of all, big fan of Alice in Wonderland, so already a great start. Looking at the photos, the whole vibe of this runway is very fantastical and whimsical, and I absolutely love it. I think that the giant mushrooms work really well in the otherwise very open, light and airy space. I think the use of the pink and white colors complements the glass, and the green color that the space already has very well. The collection that this space was built to showcase is stunning. I think that the way they have built it to further enhance the clothing of this particular collection makes the show as a whole so much stronger. Being in a space specifically designed to complement the runway looks brings the audience so much further into the feeling and inspiration of the pieces being shown. It really helps show the designer's vision to the audience in a way that a normal runway doesn’t.
I always wonder how people do things with real trees. I have several questions. How do you get the trees? Who do you call to get whole live trees delivered for production? How are the trees delivered? How do the trees stay up? Do you water them? What do you do with them after the production? Do they just get disposed of or are they like replanted or something? Overall, I love this vibe and I think it really does give Alice in Wonderland by utilizing scale to make the viewer feel small, which is one of my favorite tricks in design. I like the integration of the fake mushrooms with the real trees that makes it feel natural and fresh while still being fantastical and whimsical. Fashion show sets are so interesting because you can always tell that the designer wants to add to the world of the collection but is trying so hard to not take focus away from the actual clothes, which I bet is a very hard balance to strike.
This is a really interesting concept for a fashion show. I feel like this is fitting for an immersive pop up experience because the mushrooms and trees are so big and surround the space. But seeing it in a fashion show dynamic for sure works. It sets the walk way for the models and adds some ambiance for the audience members. The colors or red, purple and pink from the mushrooms compliment the fashion choices and colors of the run. The trees being pink is a little wild. I have only seen trees with cherry blossoms, but not the entirety being pink. The article mentions how the building structure contrasts with the mushrooms and trees, but I disagree. I think the green of the interior of the building goes well with the pinkish tone of the room and creates more of the magical forest feel. I think that it overall really gives off what the brand was going for and adds to the whimsy of the show.
Who doesn't like a big ol mushroom. As a person that does not understand high fashion or why anyone is wearing anything on a runway that they are wearing, I would go to this show in a heart beat. This installation style show just seems like such a breath of fresh air in a world full of tribulations. Some designer just wanted it to look like Alice in Wonderland, and people delivered. I wonder how much paperwork and meetings there were about getting live trees into the space, that sounds like the kind of thing a designer would say and I would wonder why they were like that. But when it comes to wildlife, nothing really can beat the real thing. Especially when the audience is up close and personal with the trees, I do not think this show would have the same effect if the trees were not real.
You can always tell when a fashion show has a clear artistic vision, everything from the design of the hall to the clothes of the model are so cohesive, they've created a world that has a pretty good theme, i think that the theme that they've created is very whimsical( its giving forest fantasy vibes which makes a lot of sense since they took inspiration from alice and wonderland, i love to see when artists and designers take inspiration from classic animated movies it always ends up being way more interesting). While i cant pretend i understand paris high fashion( the messages and themes often don't really translate to me and i often cant see the vision behind the outfits), i can say say that i would be interested in attending a show like this, the layout is super interesting and the design of the clothes are really visually pleasing
I actually really love this whole concept and it's so reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland which was and still is one of my favorite movies, the beginning of the movie specifically reminding me of this fashion show. The fact that there were live trees is absolutely insane to think about because how in the world do you go to a production team and just go "I want live trees". Like I would just like to know how that idea was received. This had to have been so difficult since they would have had to build the trees base into the design and figure out a way to keep them alive too. Painted? Genetically modified some how? Like I know cherry blossom trees exist but this is literally a pink tree so I just really want to know.I have to say though however they did it I applaud them because they most certainly achieved the vision they were going for.
The mushrooms remind me of this playground that used to be in the Exton Square Mall. It was situated in the center of the mall, and was essentially this large square play area made for kids to get out their energy. It had a few different variations when I was a kid, but the most recent one was a series of large mushrooms that kids were meant to climb and slide down. I remember they also had a large snail and a caterpillar. The mushrooms in this Chanel fashion show have a similar childhood feeling. They make the models feel much smaller, and almost bring the audience into this world where everything is larger and they are hidden within it. The article mentions this aspect less, but I think the foliage that lines the room furthers this forest setting. With the room literally being enrobed in the leaves, the audience is surrounded by this larger than life foliage.
8 comments:
First of all, big fan of Alice in Wonderland, so already a great start. Looking at the photos, the whole vibe of this runway is very fantastical and whimsical, and I absolutely love it. I think that the giant mushrooms work really well in the otherwise very open, light and airy space. I think the use of the pink and white colors complements the glass, and the green color that the space already has very well. The collection that this space was built to showcase is stunning. I think that the way they have built it to further enhance the clothing of this particular collection makes the show as a whole so much stronger. Being in a space specifically designed to complement the runway looks brings the audience so much further into the feeling and inspiration of the pieces being shown. It really helps show the designer's vision to the audience in a way that a normal runway doesn’t.
I always wonder how people do things with real trees. I have several questions. How do you get the trees? Who do you call to get whole live trees delivered for production? How are the trees delivered? How do the trees stay up? Do you water them? What do you do with them after the production? Do they just get disposed of or are they like replanted or something? Overall, I love this vibe and I think it really does give Alice in Wonderland by utilizing scale to make the viewer feel small, which is one of my favorite tricks in design. I like the integration of the fake mushrooms with the real trees that makes it feel natural and fresh while still being fantastical and whimsical. Fashion show sets are so interesting because you can always tell that the designer wants to add to the world of the collection but is trying so hard to not take focus away from the actual clothes, which I bet is a very hard balance to strike.
This is a really interesting concept for a fashion show. I feel like this is fitting for an immersive pop up experience because the mushrooms and trees are so big and surround the space. But seeing it in a fashion show dynamic for sure works. It sets the walk way for the models and adds some ambiance for the audience members. The colors or red, purple and pink from the mushrooms compliment the fashion choices and colors of the run. The trees being pink is a little wild. I have only seen trees with cherry blossoms, but not the entirety being pink. The article mentions how the building structure contrasts with the mushrooms and trees, but I disagree. I think the green of the interior of the building goes well with the pinkish tone of the room and creates more of the magical forest feel. I think that it overall really gives off what the brand was going for and adds to the whimsy of the show.
Who doesn't like a big ol mushroom. As a person that does not understand high fashion or why anyone is wearing anything on a runway that they are wearing, I would go to this show in a heart beat. This installation style show just seems like such a breath of fresh air in a world full of tribulations. Some designer just wanted it to look like Alice in Wonderland, and people delivered. I wonder how much paperwork and meetings there were about getting live trees into the space, that sounds like the kind of thing a designer would say and I would wonder why they were like that. But when it comes to wildlife, nothing really can beat the real thing. Especially when the audience is up close and personal with the trees, I do not think this show would have the same effect if the trees were not real.
You can always tell when a fashion show has a clear artistic vision, everything from the design of the hall to the clothes of the model are so cohesive, they've created a world that has a pretty good theme, i think that the theme that they've created is very whimsical( its giving forest fantasy vibes which makes a lot of sense since they took inspiration from alice and wonderland, i love to see when artists and designers take inspiration from classic animated movies it always ends up being way more interesting). While i cant pretend i understand paris high fashion( the messages and themes often don't really translate to me and i often cant see the vision behind the outfits), i can say say that i would be interested in attending a show like this, the layout is super interesting and the design of the clothes are really visually pleasing
I actually really love this whole concept and it's so reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland which was and still is one of my favorite movies, the beginning of the movie specifically reminding me of this fashion show. The fact that there were live trees is absolutely insane to think about because how in the world do you go to a production team and just go "I want live trees". Like I would just like to know how that idea was received. This had to have been so difficult since they would have had to build the trees base into the design and figure out a way to keep them alive too. Painted? Genetically modified some how? Like I know cherry blossom trees exist but this is literally a pink tree so I just really want to know.I have to say though however they did it I applaud them because they most certainly achieved the vision they were going for.
NatM
The mushrooms remind me of this playground that used to be in the Exton Square Mall. It was situated in the center of the mall, and was essentially this large square play area made for kids to get out their energy. It had a few different variations when I was a kid, but the most recent one was a series of large mushrooms that kids were meant to climb and slide down. I remember they also had a large snail and a caterpillar. The mushrooms in this Chanel fashion show have a similar childhood feeling. They make the models feel much smaller, and almost bring the audience into this world where everything is larger and they are hidden within it. The article mentions this aspect less, but I think the foliage that lines the room furthers this forest setting. With the room literally being enrobed in the leaves, the audience is surrounded by this larger than life foliage.
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