Oh My! How It Glistens! (Chanel Pre-Fall 2011)

I just saw some snaps from Lagerfeld's Chanel Pre-Fall collection, and OMG. If I had functioning tear ducts, I would have cried already because it was so beautiful. As much as I loved the Fall 2010 Tsarina-inspired collection, this one took my breath away. The old one, not so much. It made me gasp though, but I think it was more the giant lion and the giant pearl....

Karl hosted the show at the house's Rue Cambon atelier (with boy toy Baptiste Giabiconi on the runway too), setting the scene as intimate and oriental as possible with stained-glass tables and pillows. This Paris-Byzance themed collection was inspired by Gabrielle Coco's Byzantine cross adorned cuffs and by Byzantine empress Theodora, who apparently started out as a circus artist an then became an empress. I can only imagine how she went through a Grace Kelly transition if this were true, but I'll take Unkle K's word as gospel truth.