cranes turn the grand palais into construction site for chanel FW26 runway

chanel installs a construction site for fw 2026 show

For its Fall Winter 2026 show at the Grand Palais in Paris, Chanel transforms the historic glass hall into a vibrant construction landscape. Bureau Betak installs towering cranes, rendered in primary colors and illuminated from within, that fill the vast nave beneath the iron-and-glass dome. The installation reframes the runway as an architectural site in progress, where cranes appear almost monumental against the scale of the Grand Palais, their lattice structures echoing the structural logic of the building itself.

Arranged across the runway in red, blue, yellow, green, and white, they form a geometric field of vertical markers that punctuate the reflective floor. Suspended booms extend across the space like mechanical arms frozen mid-operation.

all images courtesy of Chanel

bureau betak lights the cranes beneath the grand palais dome

Within the context of Matthieu Blazy’s debut collection for the house, the set functions as a metaphorical framework. Cranes, instruments of assembly and renewal, evoke a world constantly under construction. The scenography mirrors the emphasis of the collection on essential cuts, fluid silhouettes, and iridescent surfaces, positioning fashion within an atmosphere of evolution.

Lighting intensifies the scenography by the team at Bureau Betak. Spotlights scatter across the glass vault like a star field while beams descend between the cranes, animating their metallic frames. Reflections ripple across the glossy runway surface, doubling the installation and amplifying its spatial depth. The dialogue between couture and infrastructure becomes central. Delicate garments pass through a landscape of industrial machines, staging a tension between precision engineering and soft materiality.

Chanel transforms the historic glass hall into a vibrant construction landscape