Wicreations used 4 of their 2.5 tonne Liftket motors running with Kinesys Elevation 1+ controllers, controlled by Kinesys’ Vector software for the smooth lift of a giant 18 metre high by 16 metre wide scenic jacket forming the set centrepiece at Chanel’s 2008 Haute Couture fashion show.

The show was staged in the charismatic Grand Palais in Paris, and Wicreations were working for production company Villa Eugenie.

The jacket was designed by Stefan Lubrina, built by Artelier Devineau and based on a concept of the classic Chanel jacket by fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld. It was made from a wooden skeleton and finished in painted polystyrene foam, weighing 8.5 tonnes, and had to be lifted and then suspended with its bottom just skimming the floor of the show’s main catwalk which circled around its base.

Due to the size and the delicate nature of the construction and the chances of the finish cracking, it was absolutely vital that there were no tugs or snags during the lifting operation. Wicreations – who were called in to design and build the support mechanism and fly the jacket – knew that they needed to use Kinesys to ensure this could be done. “It was the best system for guaranteeing absolute smoothness and no bumps” says Wicreations’ Hans Willems for whom it was the sixth Chanel Haut Couture show.

The jacked was supported underneath by a grid of trusses to which the 4 motors were attached, and the whole thing was lifted, positioned and deaded – which all went like clockwork.

For the show, models entered and exited the runway through a flap in the jacket, which made for extremely dramatic eye-candy, arousing numerous comments in the press.