Introducing Chanel The Opera

Karl Lagerfeld  and Coco Chanel  have inspired a new version of Jean-Philippe Rameau's 18th century comic opera, Platée. The production, which premiered in Vienna last week, is now on show in Paris and will travel to New York next week.

Coco Chanel

The original story centres upon Platée, an unattractive water nymph, who believes Jupiter, the king of the gods, is in love with her. Sadly, she discovers that his amorous advances are all part of a plan to punish his wife, Juno, for her jealousy. The play was first written for Louis, Dauphin of France and his wife, Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain - who apparently wasn't very aesthetically gifted either.

The new version sees Jupiter played by a Lagerfeld lookalike, complete with a white ponytail, dark sunglasses and black suit, and he arrives on the stage using Chanel's famous mirrored staircase. Juno's character is made to resemble Coco Chanel, dressed in head-to-toe tweed, while Platée is portrayed as the ultimate fashion victim.