Karl's Paris Puppets... Dior Adores Beijing... Holding a Candle...

HEART OF GLASS: Karl Lagerfeld certainly likes to show who’s pulling the strings at Chanel. The omnipresent designer cut the ribbon on the house’s holiday window for Paris department store Printemps Wednesday night, featuring a fantasy troupe of articulated puppets named Coco frolicking in a garden of golden flowers. In an equally playful mood, Hannah MacGibbon’s window for Chloé features a world of underwater bears.

DIOR ADORES BEIJING: Beijing may have drawn sports fans for the Olympics this past summer, but this weekend, an altogether different crowd is flying in. On Saturday, Charlize Theron, Eva Green, Marion Cotillard, Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Chung will attend an opening reception and gala dinner to celebrate the exhibit “Christian Dior & Chinese Artists” at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. Also at the bash will be LVMH head Bernard Arnault, Sidney Toledano, Delphine Arnault and Jean-Claude Martinez.

PUN TIMES: Kenneth Cole’s party for “Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference” brought out the likes of Diane von Furstenberg, David Lauren and Bergdorf Goodman’s Jim Gold to the Kenneth Cole flagship at Grand Central Terminal. “To be aware is more important than what you wear,” said Cole. Co-host Rosario Dawson, Lauren Bush, Harry Belafonte and Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu, who performed, all contributed to the book, a call to volunteerism. Dawson wrote a section about engaging Latino voters. “I was lucky to be raised with a socially conscious understanding of the world, mostly because I grew up in a squat on the Lower East Side,” she said. “Life was unavoidable.”

HOLDING A CANDLE: Coach is lighting up for the holidays, Japan-style. The American accessories firm, which is celebrating 20 years of being in Japan, is sponsoring the Harajuku Omotesando Keyaki Organization’s “Road of Lights” campaign in Tokyo. The theme of this year’s campaign, for which people can engrave their holiday wishes on candles that will be added to a street exhibit, is “Christmas Wishes by Coach.” An opening candle-lighting ceremony will be held on Dec. 1 in Machikado Teien plaza along Tokyo’s prestigious Omotesando Street. The display and wish garden there will be up until Christmas day. Coach Japan has partnered with The Make-A-Wish-Foundation of Japan so that for each wish submitted, the company will donate 10 yen, or 10 cents at current exchange, to the charity. Donations also will be accepted through coach.com.

GIVING BIRTH: Donna Karan doesn’t just wish to dress Michelle Obama. Come spring, she also hopes to put her design sensibility on pregnant women nationwide. As part of its 20th anniversary, DKNY is launching a capsule collection of maternity clothes for spring, called The Happy Birth-Day Collection. The 18 pieces have a sexy fit, featuring such looks as pull-on skirts and karate pants, and stretch materials in black, white and gray. Priced at retail from $75 for leggings to $525 for a long dress, the line will be available at DKNY boutiques as well as Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Direct, Macy’s East and Macy’s West.