PARIS — Karl Lagerfeld let it snow at fashion label Chanel on Friday, parading models in checkered tweed coats on a runway resembling a shiny ice block, their sparkling skates slung over their shoulders.

The pony-tailed German designer is one of several Paris designers who have transformed their catwalks into theatre-like settings this week or rented out museums or former market halls to add an extravagant edge to their presentations.

Jean-Paul Gaultier had a Celtic dancer spin over his catwalk. At Givenchy, loudspeakers transmitted the sound of a roaring storm, and Stefano Pilati presented his new Yves Saint Laurent line above the roof tops of Paris late on Thursday.

Lagerfeld said snow in big cities was very poetic, although it tended to become dirty and disgusting after three days.

"As everyone’s talking about global warming, I wanted to have a very chilly decor to reassure people," Lagerfeld said, standing near a fake pile of snow.

Models in bright blue coats and sparkling knee-length dresses struck a contrast to the white tissue clouds hanging above them in the glass-domed Grand Palais.

The multi-tasking designer, who also presented a collection for his Karl Lagerfeld label earlier this week, said he wanted to bring color to next winter. Some models wore trademark Chanel tweed coats, but pepped up with glitzy pins and buttons.

Lagerfeld said the sporty look was all the vogue.

"It’s not because people are more sporty. They are in front of their televisions. But the sporty look has entered daily life," Lagerfeld said having showered fashion editors in fake paper snow at the end of his show.

Lagerfeld said he had used seven kilometers of tissue to create the puffy clouds floating above his catwalk, hiding snow and smoke machines inside them.

Italian designer Pilati went for the real thing at his show for Yves Saint Laurent on Thursday, setting it against the backdrop of a cloudless sky.

Models in big-shouldered coats walked out in front of a giant window on the top floor of the Center Pompidou arts center revealing the Paris skyline and the illuminated Sacre Coeur basilica.

Girls paraded in knitted black dresses and slim suit jackets with big belts. Some skinny models almost seemed to disappear underneath their wide sack dresses.