Chanel fashion shows: ephemeral architecture inside the Grand Palais

This project is based on ephemeral architecture created by the scenographies assemblies of Chanel and the interest in connecting fashion and architecture thought scenographies designed for each one of the collections. The tremendous social impact of fashion and architecture has been an inspiration for this paper.

Under a careful selection of scenographies carried out by Chanel, it has been proceeded to develop a spatial and in-depth study of them;
besides, it has been drawn plans and sections of the case studies in the context of the Grand Palais between 2005 – 2020 for a better understanding of the architecture that surrounds these performances.

Raising as a hypothesis, the architectural character of the scenography and if the stage that is set for the fashion show can be included within the realm of ephemeral architecture. Taking into account whether it is the architecture itself that is generating the fashion collection, or fashion that conditions and modifies the space in which it is exhibited.

Architecture and fashion have always been intimately linked, being one the inspiration for the other and vice versa. The two of them are visual languages, but that relationship is not only based on that but volumes, creativity, shapes, textures, curves and straight lines. Fashion and architecture seek to embellish something as necessary as covering our body and having a roof that shelters us. They have turned two basic needs into something delicate and beautiful, into an unbreakable link that unites fashion and architecture.

Over the years, this relationship has grown, and the many similarities between the two have become evident. They are two arts that start from an idea and use a very similar process of development: a sketch, specific measures and play with volumes and proportions. They are concerned with the human context, changes of scale, textures… Both disciplines give great importance to colours and make use of different materials, managing to capture visual attention.

This link between fashion and architecture is evident at the time when the fashion brand itself is not only looking for the best place in the city to locate its store and exhibit their new sets but when the brand commissions famous designers and architects to design their shops or their foundations.