September 7, 2012 3:08 pm

Slideshow: Scenes From Fashion’s Night Out in Paris

By Caroline Kinneberg

Photo: Julien Babigeon

At 6 p.m., Parisians began pouring onto rue du Saint-Honoré and the streets around it, where youthful labels like Kenzo, APC, and the ultimate mecca for les bobos worldwide, Colette, rub shoulders with all the mythical French designers — Lanvin, Dior, and YSL. But the biggest excitement of the night was at Chanel’s rue Cambon headquarters, one of the brand’s three boutiques in the ‘hood. With the arrival of heavy lighting equipment, those waiting in the long line out front assumed their fashion god’s arrival was imminent. Preparation started for the advent of his Rolls Royce; “Karlito!” one roared. “Put on your most beautiful smile!” instructed another. They were clearly disappointed when Karl slithered in through a back door — turns out the lights were for French TV personality Mademoiselle Agnès, model and Vogue Paris editor-at-large Malgosia Bela, and Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Emanuelle Alt. After a brief in-store appearance, the women were joined back outside by Emanuelle’s (incredibly lucky) teenage son, escorted onto the back of a Chloé truck packed with cheerleaders, and whisked away, leaving the revelers to drink their free Champagne and try to catch whiffs of the fabulous fashion aura that trailed behind.