Chanel & Moschino: Casino-Inspired Fashion

High fashion may not belong to many public arenas, but the casino is certainly one of them. Given the notoriety of casinos like Monaco’s Casino de Monte Carlo, as well as its association with the exclusive world of Monacan socialites, it’s no surprise that names like Karl Lagerfield and Jeremy Scott have recently made forays into the world of casino fashion. 

In terms of pop culture, the James Bond franchise has also done its fair share to make a casino floor look like a runway. From Macau to Monaco to the original MGM, ceramic chips and diamond-studded accessories go hand in hand. 

Globally, it’s estimated that 4.2 billion people game at least once a year. However, online gaming is projected to grow annually by a rate of 11.5%, which means casino fashion may be moving from the floor of the Monte Carlo to the living room. Trusted sites now offer competitive deposit bonuses and matches that make playing at home attractive—but fashion is usually a public affair, and no one buys Chanel and Moschino to wear only at home.

Moschino Casino Chic Goes to Vegas 

In 2017, MADE Fashion Week in Los Angeles kicked off by inviting the year’s greatest talents and visionary designers. The annual show focuses on discovering and supporting new talent, as well as creating partnerships and amplifying exposure.

Jeremy Scott led Moschino down the runway for the MADE 2017 Vegas-themed show. Top models from Miranda Kerr to Taylor Hill strode down the runway in psychedelic glam styles that featured wild prints, piled-on accessories, and plenty of fringe. There was even a winged carriage.

Scott’s designs were an ode to what he considers to be Los Angeles’ most defining time: the 1960s. This is the era when the city began to take on a personality of its own, and one major piece of that identity is its close quarters to Las Vegas.

Since then, LA socialites have been driving through the desert to spend a night in the City of Lights. The runway looked like a Hunter S. Thompson vision, replete with gaudy, flashing lights and more than a few casino chic looks, including modern showgirls and feather headdresses.

Scott’s major influence for the line was the showgirl lifestyle in Vegas, rather than a diamond-studded foray into the casinos of Monaco. He says the idea was to show a “showgirl off-duty”. Mission accomplished.

Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel Riot Goes to the Palais Casino

Two years earlier, in 2015, Karl Lagerfield led Chanel’s Spring 2015 show at Paris Fashion Week. Like Jeremy Scott’s subsequent ode to LA in a 1960s, Lagerfield chose the same time period to focus on… but without a psychedelic-style revival of Vegas showgirl life.

Chanel’s collection aimed to celebrate the anti-establishment sentiment that was popular in the 1960s. Lagerfield’s work featured plenty of tweed, wide lapels, wide-leg pants, and simple accessories. However, what was most interesting was the design layout of the show: the Grand Palais became a casino floor.

Lagerfield is already known for creating lavish, unforgettable runways for any collection that comes from Chanel. Surrounding his catwalk for Paris Fashion Week 2015, Lagerfield simulated an entire casino floor.

Not only did the runway feature actual card games from blackjack to roulette, but it also featured Hollywood stars who played the part of gamers as models took to the catwalk. The likes of Kristen Stewart, Julianne Moore, and Rita Ora sat in upholstered chairs and gamed during the show.

Though the haute couture that Lagerfield and his team created for the show focused more on a 60s revolutionary chic, the setting itself was an ode to the classiness associated with casino life. Not only is the casino floor a place to see and be seen, especially when it comes to high fashion, but it’s also a place of risk and skill.

Much like it takes courage and ferocity to pull off a high-fashion look, it takes vision and discipline to make a card game payout.