Karl Lagerfeld has an unrivalled knack at Chanel for turning the humble into haute - and raising price bars to new heights in the process. Governments in the Eurozone worried about deflation: look and learn.
It was cycling shorts and denim in the Nineties, stick-on transfers in 2010 and trainers in 2014. Look what that unleashed. Ten months later, Prada launched the £1,000 crystal-smothered trainer.
The beanie on the other hand, has had every reason to feel neglected. Apart from one season a few years back when Raf Simons designed a concept beanie with a netted veil at Jil Sander which only went into limited production, beanies have been left to their own, shamelessly affordable devices.
Now, finally they have their moment of glory. The beanies in this morning's Chanel couture show were ethereally delicate looking things, spun from cashmere and possibly fairy's wings, and scattered with jewels and appliqued chiffon flowers. No word as yet on how much they will sell for. Whatever - they'll still be a cult, and much copied.
You could argue that with Chanel's heft behind it, any rebranding is automatically destined for a degree of success. There were Edwardian picture hats too, worn with dresses strewn with poppies. If that was an allusion to the First World War, it was somewhat overshadowed by those beanies.
