It's always interesting to see how classical music is used in popular culture -- for example to inject a certain gravitas to a scene in an otherwise non-gravitas movie, or maybe to imply something about class or social standing. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but music? Well, as we used to say when we were kids, it does that an "infinity number of times."

On In Tune (Saturday 5:00 p.m., 5:30 NT) Katherine will be talking about a couple of recent instances where classical music has intersected with the fashion industry -- first at Chanel's haute couture show in Paris this summer, where Karl Lagerfeld had tiny organ pipes embroidered onto his new gowns (presumably without embedded audio). This was inspired by an experience he had attending an organ recital -- and at the fashion show the choice of music was inspired by same.

Then, on the fragrance side of the fashion world, Guerlain has based its newest perfume on one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's called "Brume d'automne" -- fall mist.

This second example is from the "expected" category. Perfume, atomizers, mist, fall launch...OK, no big surprises there. But the first example is a twist -- organs and haute couture? Interesting.

Fashion within classical music is a whole other story -- maybe Katherine should tackle that in weeks to come. If she does, she could do worse than taking a look at a blog post called Classical Music Spring Fashion Show, a wee photo essay on contemporary classical music fashions.

But for some analysis about how conductors and soloists dress and why -- take a look at Jessica Duchen's recent piece in The Independent, called Style Notes: Classical Conductors Get A Makeover. As to the why end of things, Duchen is direct:

"...classical musicians are as aware as anyone of society's obsession with image. Attractive sponsorship opportunities sometimes materialise from designer brands keen for the classy endorsement of musical stars: Rolex has enlisted the likes of the handsome young conductor Gustavo Dudamel for its adverts, for example. Besides, the arrival of the 21st century has left many asking themselves why they are still dressing for the 19th."

p.s. Yehudi Menuhin had the right fashion approach, circa 1945, didn't he. You can even hear the slogan... Lounge-wear, by Menuhin.