Chanel Couture Spring 2014

Karl Lagerfeld conceived the space in which he presented his Chanel couture show on Tuesday morning as a futuristic nightclub and not, he stressed, a disco. That’s démodé.

Karl Lagerfeld's 30-year track record at Chanel speaks to the validity of his judgment. Were the sneakers shtick? Of course they were (although expect them to sell), but shtick with a point. Lagerfeld was proclaiming the currency of couture: It can be young, it can be active, it can be versatile, all while remaining consummately couture.

The collection of Chanel was hyper-focused yet diverse. One major theme was the intense corsetry exposed between cropped jackets and belled skirts as well as breathe-freely waistless looks as different as divine diva gowns and a sheer T-shirt-and-bicycle shorts ensemble. The latter pulsed with the kind of fashion audacity that cries out for a brave starlet to don at the Oscars.