Season 1

The staff are on tenterhooks, waiting to see Karl Lagerfeld's sketches for the new haute couture collection. As they finally arrive and are shown to the three lead seamstresses, the workroom buzzes with excitement. This is the signal for work to begin on the Winter collection.

It is when fittings start that the headaches begin. Massaro the bootmaker scurries back and forth between the House of Chanel and his workshop until he gets the shape of the shoes and heels just right. Once the first set of toiles are approved, the work of fabric selection can begin.

With nineteen days to go, craftsmen and garments zig-zag backwards and forwards between the Rue Cambon and the workshops of the embroiderers, feather makers and milliners. Extra staff are taken on in the workrooms and everyone available is put to work on the bridal gown. Only eleven days to go now until the show!

A week before the show, the House of Chanel is working flat out. The seamstresses and their assistants are working day and night, and tempers are beginning to fray.The atmosphere is increasingly strained, as everyone wonders whether the collection will be ready in time.

At last the big day arrives. It is a fraught time for the PR department, what with would-be-gate-crashers. Finally, the show begins. It is a triumph. In the very last scene, the seamstresses attend the in-house show. This is the ultimate test, as merciless eyes rake the garments for even the tiniest flaw.