Gatecrasher at the Chanel Catwalk 2019 | ewmoda
 

A Woman Pretended to be a Model on the Chanel Catwalk

Gigi Hadid did not approve as French comedian joined models during the finale of the Paris Fashion Week event.

Posted on

2 October 2019

A Woman Pretended to be a Model on the Chanel Catwalk

All Credits: PA

Usually, Chanel makes headlines at Paris Fashion Week thanks to its spectacular sets and stellar front row, but today there was another reason the French house’s show had tongues wagging.

During the finale of its spring/summer 2020 extravaganza – the set for which was created to look like the rooftops of Paris – a woman dressed in a houndstooth suit ran out of the audience, jumped on the catwalk and joined the line of models as they completed a last circuit of the set.

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Splitting off from the models, the woman then turned and walked to the middle of the catwalk, where she was met by American supermodel Gigi Hadid, who seemed to be trying to prevent the interloper from going any further.

Eventually, after posing some more and speaking to Hadid, she appeared to leave the catwalk peacefully.

The catwalk crasher has since been identified as Marie Benoliel aka Marie S’Infiltre, a French comedian and YouTuber who has 227,000 subscribers on the video sharing platform.

Earlier this week, Benoliel crashed another Paris show, joining models during the Etam finale wearing a sparkly lingerie set, but it’s unclear why she is targeting fashion shows.

Excluding the unplanned interruption at the end, the rest of the Chanel show went off without a hitch.

Virginie Viard, who took over as head designer when Karl Lagerfeld died earlier this year, wanted to pay tribute to the rooftops of Paris, which is why a section of the city’s skyline was built for the models to walk down.

The faithfully recreated set included the zinc surfaces, chimney pots and skylights that make Parisian roofs so recognisable, and came with a realistically greyish-blue sky backdrop.

Celebrity guests posed in front of a skyline photo, adding to the illusion that the show was taking place high above the city streets.

Cardi B continued her reign as the queen of PFW; the rapper looked chic in head-to-toe monochrome Chanel, with a houndstooth coat draped over her shoulders (this AW19 look was worn by Cara Delevingne on the catwalk in February).

Singer Cardi B poses for photographers as she arrives for the Chanel Ready To Wear Spring-Summer 2020 show

Singer Cardi B poses for photographers as she arrives for the Chanel Ready To Wear Spring-Summer 2020 show

Joining Gigi Hadid on the runway was another Chanel favourite, Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber, who wore a black off-the-shoulder top with a white skirt and a white hat with a pink corsage.

SEE ALSO: 5 Reasons Why The Hadid's Are Dominating Fashion Weeks

Model Kaia Gerber

Model Kaia Gerber

Lead designer Viard stayed faithful to the house’s codes, with an array of tweed skirt-suits in monochrome colour combinations, as well as spring-like shades of pink, blue and yellow.

The Parisian theme came through in high-waisted jeans and trousers paired with cropped jackets, or caridgans and skinny belts.

Some models flashed a lot of leg in tiny short-shorts, while others wafted by in abstract print boho dresses and floor-length evening gowns.

Some models flashed a lot of le

Staying relevant to long-time customers while appealing to a younger audience came naturally to Lagerfeld, and now, with this strong showing, Viard is proving she’s got what it takes to continue the legendary designer’s legacy.