Meloncat Hair & Spice Girl Platforms: The Unexpected Chanel Cruise Collection

A combination of Marie Antoinette, '90s silhouettes including raver pants and platform shoes, meloncat hair, and Japanese anime seems like it would mix as well as oil and water… But, somehow, the Chanel cruise '12 collection pulled it off! Pretty, origami pleats, watercolor prints, sticker-like flowers, half-precious/half-bondage costume jewelry, and new takes on the Chanel tweed (appearing in the forms of royal waistcoats and scarves) made the offerings a bit more challenging than Karl Lagerfeld's others, but not so ridiculous that we couldn't imagine anyone wearing the pieces outside of the Palais (in fact, we'd like to wear 'em — hand it over!). Aside from the shoes that made all the models look like they were wearing nude pantyhose or were on their way to basketball practice with the Spice Girls, the pieces displayed that sort of couture-season bravura that's not often seen in a cruise collection. Click through for all 71 looks from the very pretty runway!