The sea, the sea: Chanel creates beach to cap Paris season

An autumnal chill is in the air in Paris, but Karl Lagerfeld managed to spirit the Paris Fashion Week crowd away to an idyllic beachscape on Tuesday, the last day of the ready-to-wear shows.

With a click of his gloved fingers, Chanel’s eccentric couturier transformed the inside of the Grand Palais into a sunny Saint Tropez beach for his celebrity-filled spring-summer runway display.

A real sandy beach and wooden huts awaited surprised guests, as water lapped a shore in frothy waves.

Here are some highlights: At Chanel’s show, Pharrell Williams laughed as he pulled his wife Helen Lasichanh across the life-size beach to their seats, while model Ines de la Fressange exclaimed: “Shall we go for a swim?” as she wandered amid the scene.

For the 15-minute show, Chanel whisked fashion insiders far away from the bustle of the nearby Champs-Elysees. Slack-jawed VIP guests, fatigued from nine days of back-to-back urban runway displays, marveled in near-relief at the expanse of water and masses of golden sand inside the lofty venue.

The water touched an immense trompe l’oeil photo backdrop of a sea-view, complete with distant mountains and clouds speckling the sky.

A tropical hut led to a wooden walkway from which Lagerfeld, 85, waved.

Model Brad Kroenig sat in a tall lifeguard hut placed among the seated guests—though the only “danger” at the scene was perhaps a bustling scrum that surrounded Pamela Anderson. She posed for cameras in a soft white Chanel coat, pearl encrusted skirt and shades as the water lapped at her heels.

The 51-year-old former “Baywatch” star—who’s participating in the French version of “Dancing with the Stars”—acknowledged being somewhat surprised on receiving an invite to the chicest of the Paris Fashion Week displays.

“I was wondering: Why is Karl looking for me? Why does he want me at the show?” she asked playfully, looking around. “And now I realize, OK, OK. We’re at the beach.”

She said, “I need more” Chanel bathing suits. /