Chanel on Friday said it would pull the plug on its costly Mobile Art exhibition that was slated to travel to major cities worldwide in a Space Age prefab structure designed by architect Zaha Hadid.

The decision comes amid snowballing bad economic news and Wall Street scandals, and reflects a new sobriety for luxurious endeavors.

“Considering the current economic crisis, we decided it was best to stop the project,” said a Chanel spokeswoman. “We will be concentrating on strategic growth investments.”

Karl Lagerfeld opened his pre-fall 2009 Chanel show last week with a ten-minute silent short film about Coco Chanel — his directorial debut!

Last year, Karl Lagerfeld brought Paris to London, and this year he brings Moscow to Paris, highlighted by his silent film presentation. He shied away from the subtle, with elements of Russian folklore tying the collection together, including elaborate headdresses, thick fluffy knits and sparkly gold boots.

To celebrate Coco Chanel’s 125th birthday, Karl Lagerfeld has designed a €5 coin. Lagerfeld has really captured the history of Coco Chanel incorporating many aspects of the name with the coin a great match for Chanel No. 5 fragrance.

The front of the coin displays Coco Chanel‘s face and Karl Lagerfeld’s signature. On the back is the brand’s iconic print and the €5 symbol.

The coin has been approved by the French Mint, and it’s been produced in gold and silver. The gold version costs €5,900, and there are only 99 of them in existence. The silver version is cheaper – at just €45 – and there are 11,900 of them. You can look out for the release on December 1st.

Scott Schuman, more commonly known as the creator of the popular fashion blog “The Sartorialist”, has been commissioned by Fantastic Man magazine to photograph Chanel’s latest Menswear collection.

The Concept of the shoot is all about real people, or more like, real men in Chanel – these photographs from Fantastic Man’s Issue #8 definitely reflect Schuman’s style in photography.

Fresh off stints in Tokyo and Hong Kong, Chanel’s UFO-like mobile art pavilion is making a stop in Central Park before being transported over to London, Moscow and Paris.

The curled shiny structure is full of art inspired by Chanel’s iconic quilted leather Chanel handbag – pieces like an enormous Chanel handbag spilled over.

The work has drawn criticism for its cluelessness, and its place in the Park, which the New York Times calls an “instrument of psychological healing for the weary.”

These shoes were part of Chanel’s 2009 Cruise Collection, and were actually designed by Laurence Decade, who was apparently handed an image of a gun by Lagerfeld, with the instruction to turn it into footwear

And he did. The scary bit is that these aren’t just pieces of catwalk art – they are actually available to buy with the rest of the collection, priced at €2,000 ($2,800).

Latest to be seen in the pair is Madonna. We can just imagine how much trouble this confusion is going to cause at airport security ^_^