Chanel knows its market.
The spidery models on the runway atop the Raleigh Hotel's historic pool were clad in things like a lacy black dress (perfect for the millionaire's soiree), bell-bottom trousers (lunch at Carpaccio) and ombre maillots (see you at the Grand Cul de Sac, St. Barts).
Karl Lagerfeld, who 25 years ago brought Chanel back from the brink of irrelevance, is a guru to ardent fans, a man whose sketch pad holds more revelations than the Bible.
''Classic'' they invariably call his designs, and by that they usually mean ``classy.''
Wear Chanel, the feeling is, and you won't be written off as crass (as you might in Gucci) or dull (in Giorgio Armani) or florid (in Cavalli) or square (in St. John) or crazy (in John Galliano).
Lagerfeld has cornered the market on elite status, claiming it for the women he dresses, and indirectly, for himself.
His outfits do more than create lithe silhouettes and suggest bottomless bank accounts. They hold the promise of a discreet comportment, a certain pedigree.
The airtight association with the upper crust allows Lagerfeld room to play, and play he does. For his Cruise '08-'09 collection, he toyed with sleeves and dress panels constructed of clear plastic. He encircled arms and collarbones with wispy silver strands that looked, from afar, like Christmas tinsels.
On Lagerfeld's mind, it seemed, were the rollicking 1970s, with their glittery neckties and disco blazers. His models sashayed on heels resembling pistols -- even Charlie's Angels never had it so good.
Say what you will about this detail or that, Lagerfeld's aesthetic continues to be rock-solid, his taste a reflection -- and, at times, a shaper -- of the zeitgeist.
His layered, busy necklaces convey, I have seen too much to embrace preciousness. His reliance on black and white suggests, I never need shout to be heard.
Throngs gathered, post-show, at the edge of Lagerfeld's guarded cabana, snapping photos with their cellphones.
''Oh my God!'' squealed Michelle Belaval, a sales associate at Chanel in Bal Harbour Shops, moments after a brief exchange with the designer.
Chanel reserved all 105 rooms at the Raleigh for the entire week of the show, repainted the pool area and replaced the umbrellas. Fashion heavies from around the world paid homage.
''He's a dream,'' said British writer Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni.
Even Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue and unofficial subject of the novel and movie, The Devil Wears Prada, made the Miami pilgrimage.
''I used to come all the time [to Miami] when Gianni was alive, so it has sort of sad memories for me,'' she said, referring to designer Gianni Versace, gunned down outside his Ocean Drive manse in 1997. ``I really don't come here very often.''
But for Karl?
''For Karl,'' Wintour said, ``of course.''
