Chanel Resort 2013 at Versailles

>> Karl Lagerfeld has chosen the gardens at the Palace of Versailles as the stage for his next big production: the Chanel Resort 2013 collection.

The show will be presented on May 14, but other details are still under wraps. Past Chanel Resort shows have been presented in St. Tropez, Los Angeles, and along the French Riviera, and their locations usually speak to the theme of the collection. At Versailles — where the French royal family ruled in extravagance for 100 years before the French Revolution — the only theme that comes to mind is sheer excess.

This isn't the first time Versailles has been used for a show. In 2007, John Galliano rented out the palace for Dior's 60th anniversary couture show, and in 1973, Anne Klein, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Oscar de la Renta faced off against couturiers Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, and Emanuel Ungaro in a runway spectacle that became known as the Battle of Versailles.

Whether Chanel creates a tribute to Marie Antoinette along the Royal Pathway or shows a decadent collection dripping with diamonds by the Grand Canal, living up to past fashion shows at Versailles will be a tall order — but if anyone is up to the task, it's definitely Lagerfeld. The set for his Spring 2011 Chanel show was based on Versailles's extensive gardens, and he's shot numerous fashion editorials at the palace over the years. Click through to see some of those — along with other Versailles-set shoots — here, in the gallery.