PARIS 6 July 2010 - A several story-tall golden lion -- a "modest" homage to Chanel founder Coco, a Leo -- presided over the luxury giant's over-the-top fall/winter 2011 haute couture display, where models in sequin-covered sheath dresses and cropped jackets emerged from inside a giant pearl to trace figure eights between the towering feline's oversized paws.

The beast, the creation of set designers from the Paris opera, snarled overhead as the models emerged from a giant pearl the oversized paw was resting on. The French luxury supernova is known for its theatrical sets, which recently included a giant bottle of its best-selling No. 5 perfume or a life-size barn with real — and really smelly — hay. But a gigantic golden lion sculpture?

That was spectacular, even by Chanel's standards.

The label's reigning king, designer Karl Lagerfeld, sent out a regal collection of A-line dresses and sheaths fitted with cropped square-shaped jackets with half sleeves. Many of the looks, in rich reds, purples and chocolate browns, were entirely covered in sequins that glinted wildly under the flashes of hundreds of cameras.

Celebrity guests included "Gossip Girl" Leighton Meester, Jessica Alba and Milla Jovovich.

Jovovich, a L'Oreal spokesmodel, said she was coveting the whole collection but had her eye on a particular pair of slouchy sequin-covered boots.

Lagerfeld begged to differ.

"They're all very discreet, there's no flashy effects," the ponytailed designer said in a post-show interview.

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Chanel | Born Under Leo
A several story-tall golden lion -- a "modest" homage to Chanel founder Coco, a Leo -- presided over the luxury giant's over-the-top fall-winter 2011 haute couture display, where models in sequin-covered sheath dresses and cropped jackets emerged from inside a giant pearl to trace figure eights between the towering feline's oversized paws.