PARIS — The latest stage of the Asian invasion of the Paris couture season occurred at the Chanel show, held at the Grand Palais on Tuesday morning.
While the creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s muses remained out in force (the model and actress Cara Delevingne with her puppy Leo and the actresses Diane Kruger and Clémence Poésy), the star attraction proved to be G-Dragon, a South Korean pop star-turned-rapper and aspiring fashion entrepreneur who set Twitter alight with his naval-captain-inspired Chanel couture suit, flawless foundation and gigantic black fur hat.
A former teenage sensation and leader of the K-Pop boyband Big Bang, G-Dragon (whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong) has been a front-row fixture at recent Chanel shows the world over, from Dallas to Paris. His chameleon style, kaleidoscopic hair shades and catchy songs have won him an army of fans in the millions in Asia, especially in his home country. (This no doubt explains part of his appeal for Chanel, who has identified South Korea as a leading luxury growth market.)