From runways inspired by a French supermarket and brasserie to a Chanel airliner, and staging shows in Cuba, Edinburgh and Versailles—there’s no doubt that Karl Lagerfeld knows how to put on a good show. But for the Haute Couture Fall 2016 collection, Lagerfeld went back to the drawing room—hosting the latest runway show inside a Chanel atelier. the inner world of seamstresses is put under the spotlight and animated before the audience by the premières of the ateliers

The Creative Director stripped away all the glitz we’ve become accustomed to from Chanel, putting the focus on the most important people at the maison—the petit mans, also known as the little hands that so diligently stitch, sew and embroider every single detail on each couture look.

Ambassador for Chanel, Willow Smith and father, Will Smith

Ambassador of Chanel, Caroline De Maigret

In front of an A-list audience including Chanel ambassadors Willow Smith and Caroline de Maigret, models strutted their way through women at work in the atelier, spools of fabric and dress forms. The collection was nothing short of exquisite from the tweed suits and dresses to a show-stopping pink brocade jacket with a feathered train for the finale.

The Finale, as photographed by Olivier Saillant