Couture Meets Data Centers During Paris Fashion Week

It’s not very often that the public outside of the IT world gets curious about the nature of internet infrastructure. But, every so often, an artist or a celebrity will get fascinated with it and draw the broader public’s attention to the nuts and bolts behind Netflix, Facebook, Snapchat, and Spotify.

Naturally, artists’ fascination is with the way data centers look and sound, and it’s the neat racks of servers, perforated tiles, blinking lights, and colored cabling that inspired the Chanel collection displayed as part of Paris Fashion Week Tuesday against a backdrop that looks very much like a data center, devised inside the 116-year-old Grand Palais.

There didn’t appear to be a grand message behind the show’s theme, other than the comment on how much society depends on technology. Karl Lagerfeld, the designer behind the collection and the set, told Reuters, “We all depend on it. Imagine your life without the telephone and the next step will be artificial intelligence and robots.”

Here's a taste of "Chanel data center" at Paris Fashion Week. Click on the arrows to flip through the slides:

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Models walk the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Designer Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Chanel goodie bags are seen ahead of the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Models walk the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Usher attends the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Razane Jammal, bag detail, attends the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: A model walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)  

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: A model, bag detail, walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: A model,bag detail, walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: Models walk the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: A model, dress detail, walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) 

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 04: A model,dress detail, walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)