--- title: Why a French YouTuber Crashed a Show at Paris Fashion Week description: French YouTuber Marie S'Infiltre crashed the Chanel fashion show at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. Here's why she did it. canonical: https://time.com/5689953/chanel-crasher-interview/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-01T18:47:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:03.513Z og:title: Here's Why the Chanel Crasher Stormed the Paris Fashion Week Runway Show og:description: As for Gigi Hadid bouncing her off the runway, she says 'I continue to love her' og:url: https://time.com/5689953/chanel-crasher-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt484177198ddb2e5c/698a03a9b21a9c0582502722/marie-sinfiltre-youtuber-chanel-crasher.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Chanel : Runway - Paris Fashion Week - Womenswear Spring Summer 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why the Chanel Crasher Stormed the Paris Fashion Week Runway Show twitter:description: As for Gigi Hadid bouncing her off the runway, she says 'I continue to love her' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt484177198ddb2e5c/698a03a9b21a9c0582502722/marie-sinfiltre-youtuber-chanel-crasher.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why That 'Chanel Crasher' Woman Disrupted the Runway to Have Her Own Paris Fashion Week Moment by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Oct 1, 2019 6:47 PM UTC  A spectator inserting herself among the lineup of models during the finale, best known as Marie S'Infiltre, during the Chanel Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2020 fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 1, 2019 in Paris, France. A spectator inserting herself among the lineup of models during the finale, best known as Marie S'Infiltre, during the Chanel Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2020 fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 1, 2019 in Paris, France.Victor Virgile—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Oct 1, 2019 6:47 PM UTC When [Marie Benoliel jumped onto the Chanel catwalk](https://time.com/5689908/chanel-crasher/) at [Paris Fashion Week](https://time.com/5690135/jennie-kim-chanel-show-pfw-20/) on Tuesday, the French [YouTuber](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3RfG8bCbXR-Ae9iVHqXtTQ/videos) knew what she was doing. A fashion lover, comedian and self-proclaimed “chameleon,” Benoliel is no stranger to Chanel’s _oeuvre_. “I’ve always dreamt to become a Chanel _égérie_ \[muse\],” she tells TIME. Benoliel’s moment in the Chanel sun ultimately ended when supermodel Gigi Hadid confronted her, helping her off the stage. But not before she had her moment. Naturally, the moment was widely shared on Twitter. “Gigi is obviously sublime and a fashion icon,” Benoliel says of the interaction. “I understand her reaction somewhat and continue to love her in spite of that.” Benoliel, 28, goes by the pseudonym Marie S’Infiltre, which means she goes “everywhere,” infiltrating “all kinds of places and events,” she says. On her YouTube channel that has 227,000 subscribers, she is known for satirizing French culture and society. It’s kind of a [social experiment](https://time.com/5340388/who-is-america-sacha-baron-cohen-review/) — and Chanel wasn’t her first venture in disrupting the fashion world. Benoliel, who is based in Paris, recently crashed the stage of a show by Étam, the French lingerie line. That video, posted on Sept. 25, has been viewed more then 167,000 times. (That video’s like-to-dislike ratio shows that her work is positively received by most viewers.) In one video of stunt from 2017, Benoliel spoke to an [Apple store](https://time.com/5622514/tim-kobe-designer-apple-store-notre-dame/) employee under the guise that she wanted to either work there or buy something, before continuing to blast music from an [iPhone](https://time.com/5684986/iphone-11-vs-iphone-11-pro/) throughout the store and requesting a Coke Zero at the Genius Bar. But she says she is doing these pranks and stunts to make her own points, rather than to bother anyone. “I am not making fun of people, I am pointing at how silly some people can be,” she says. Though not all of her comedic and artistic work invades the world of fashion, there’s an important reason why she chose Chanel to crash, rather than another show’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection reveal. “Chanel is eternal,” she says. “My tribute was a desire to take part in this eternity for a few minutes.” And, while her skirt-suit didn’t come from Chanel’s new collection, it had sentimental value. “The suit I was wearing on the catwalk actually belongs to my mom and she has been wearing it since I was born,” she says. > [](https://twitter.com/eiffeltyler/status/1178963897145016320)  Gigi Hadid confronts YouTube's Marie S'Infiltre on the Chanel catwalk on Oct. 1, 2019 in Paris, France. Victor Virgile—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Though some may not understand her work, Benoliel calls what she does “an exhaustive satire about our society.” She’s inspired by the work of Sacha Baron Cohen, whose fictional characters like Borat, Bruno and others have even managed to [prank politicians](https://deadline.com/2019/05/sacha-baron-cohen-who-is-america-disruptors-interview-news-1202609968/). “I think \[Cohen\] is by far the funniest person alive.” Why a French YouTuber Crashed a Show at Paris Fashion Week ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5689953/chanel-crasher-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5689953/chanel-crasher-interview/"},"headline":"Here's Why That 'Chanel Crasher' Woman Disrupted the Runway to Have Her Own Paris Fashion Week Moment","datePublished":"2019-10-01T18:47:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:03.513Z","description":"The French YouTuber and comedian says she's inspired by Sacha Baron Cohen's work","url":"https://time.com/5689953/chanel-crasher-interview/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","fashion","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt484177198ddb2e5c/698a03a9b21a9c0582502722/marie-sinfiltre-youtuber-chanel-crasher.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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