Virginie Viard was only the third creative director in Chanel’s over 100-year history, following Karl Lagerfeld and legendary founder Chanel herself.

Chanel took to the Grand Palais for its spring-summer runway show on Tuesday, marking its return to the soaring glass and steel monument with an eclectic collection of sparkly tweed ensembles and a singing performance from actor Riley Keough.

It was a Paris Fashion Week full of rumors. The shows took place as Chanel, perhaps the most famous Parisian fashion house, looks for a creative director in the wake of Virginie Viard’s departure earlier this year. For many attendees, a question hung in the air: What if this designer took over at Chanel?

Chanel returned to the Grand Palais -- scene of the late Karl Lagerfeld's most legendary triumphs -- for the first time in four years Tuesday without a designer but still able to ruffle feathers with its birdcage-themed Paris Fashion Week show.

Chanel returned to the Grand Palais -- scene of the late Karl Lagerfeld's most legendary triumphs for the first time in four years Tuesday with a birdcage-themed Paris Fashion Week show that recalled the label's past glories.

The subject continued to come up all across Paris in the lead-up to the French house's S/S 25 show, which took place today at the Grand Palais, the location of many a Chanel show since 2005, when Lagerfeld staged the brand's first show there for S/S 06.

Chanel might still be without a creative director, but the spring/summer 2025 catwalk show will always be a memorable one as it marks the house's return to the Grand Palais after four years away. The landmark – which has served as the location for the brand's catwalk shows for decades – recently underwent restoration,