The very wealthy are both just like us mortals and not like us at all. They’re like us in that they want to have cute stuff to take to the pool with their friends or on their next beach vacation, but they are not like us in that their next terrycloth beach set might be from Chanel.
The beauty of Chanel’s size is that it can afford to manufacture the kind of fun, idiosyncratic, small-audience pieces that would put a financial strain on a smaller brand. That frees Karl Lagerfeld up to get a little bit funny, and he’s done it with everything from ping pong paddles to surf boards, which fashion obsessives are known to use as home decor. In this case, he’s taking his talents to the beach.
The set, which is part of the brand’s Metiers d’Art 2016 Paris in Rome collection and in stores now, will set you back $1,650 for the towel and tote together. The pair are made of cotton terrycloth patterned to look like classic Chanel tweed, and the material and color variation mean that they’d actually make a pretty functional pool set if you wanted to use them for their intended purpose. If you’re gonna drop the money, you’ll probably end up leaving them safe in your fabulous cabana, though.