Chanel Runway at Paris Fashion Week Crashed by Comedian Who Jumped Onstage

A comedian made her way onto the runway during the Chanel fashion show during Paris Fashion Week at the city’s Grand Palais on Monday, only to be escorted away by Gigi Hadid. Marie S’Infiltre, real name Marie Benoliel, was able to hop onto the runway, which was staged to look like the rooftops of Paris, wearing a black and white houndstooth suit, a black hat, black tights, black shoes and carrying a black bag in a clear attempt to blend in with Chanel’s distinctive style.

Benoliel, whose stage name literally means “Marie inserts herself,” began walking in line with the other models before stepping off to the side to stand near Hadid, who could be seen speaking to the comedian before placing a hand on her back and leading her off the set as a group of models followed.

Benoliel is a French YouTuber who has almost 230,000 subscribers on her channel, where she posted a video of herself crashing the show along with news coverage of the moment.

“Let’s say that the way it happened was probably not the smoothest, but I have known worse,” she said over Facebook Messenger, via CNN. “Gigi was quite nervous by all means and reacted quite aggressively to me. She clearly did not understand my comic approach. I understand her reaction somewhat and continue to love her in spite of that.”

Benoliel added that she chose to disturb the Chanel show because “Chanel is eternal.”

“My tribute was a desire to take part in this eternity for a few minutes,” she said, adding that she was not trying to ruin the show. “I understand that some people can feel angry because they have put up lots of work in these shows, but at the end of the day, I am not crashing anything! I am like a funny image in the background of a movie. There is a French saying that goes ‘a day without a laugh is a day that is wasted.’ I am a strong supporter and believer in that.”

Last week, she crashed another show during Paris Fashion Week, hopping onto the runway during lingerie brand Etam’s presentation and walking the runway with the models before joining them for the show’s finale.

“This person is a comedian known for this type of prank,” a spokesperson for Chanel said in a statement. “She had crashed another runway recently. Her presence on the catwalk was not planned. Security guards simply led her to the exit at the end of the show.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Peter White