The latest male subversion: dressing in Chanel women's clothing. An emblem of feminine elegance, the French couture house has ended up succumbing to the masculine claim to its legacy.

The issue has more to do with an assault on power, the conquest of the last bastion of luxury that has always resisted men. The firm does not market a collection for them, but its true believers have no qualms about buying the women's collection. It is a turn of events that Gabrielle Chanel would never have suspected, she, who only blamed them if she could take advantage of them.