This was a journey to the center of the Earth by Chanel. Rich-toned minerals of sparkling hues, where the granite sand glistened and huge stalagmites of various greys and purples soared high beneath the Grand Palais. Lagerfeld quipped in a preview that "nature makes a good designer, no?"
The clothes were the absolute Chanel sportif. It was beyond wearable and perfect pieces to choose from and make your own. The colors were deep purples, blues, greens, grays and some reds. All chic looks on the runway and off. All of it looked chic. There were great long coats, great new suit variations, many with sporty jackets.
Everything was shown with pants, some were of the skinny ones and some mimicked jeans, some were knitted. A peekaboo lace version went under a graphically patterned fur jacket.
For evening there was plenty of sparkle and shine.
There were metallic-shot tweeds, metallic blouses, coats and jackets with exaggerated graphic metallic panels that look like cut amethysts.
Raw-cut stone jewelry, a split personality shoe- half bootie and half mary jane, with acrylic and rock crystal heels all tied these Chanel pieces together leaving room for the clients to pick and choose anything and everything for their wardrobes.
Karl Lagerfeld does the house of Chanel justice with his ever evolving ideas and visions. This was a magical and functional collection that he came up with for fall/winter 2012 that is a nice spin on sport mixed with chic.
continues to be one of the best couture houses in the world.
This Fall season Karl Lagerfeld made sure that this collection stands out, especially in the wake of the debut of a certain newcomer in the world of couture. The words classic and new comes to mind after viewing this collection. Once more it is couture at its best.
The collection was presented at the Grand Palais, Lagerfeld's favorite venue. There were tons of trees with silk camellias around the room and white wicker furniture gave a nice summer flavor to the room, where people simply lounged under a beautiful ceiling mural of painted clouds that took three weeks to complete. The invitation and press notes featured Lagerfeld's illustration of Mademoiselle against a pink background which is a nice touch that matches with the presentation.
"I like the title New Vintage. It's very Chanel, but it's not vintage yet. It's the next vintage, and what Chanel should be 100 years after the house opened." Which is obviously even more so since Lagerfeld's tenure has kept the essence of the house secure as well as keeping the standards of its couture extremely high. This is so by manifesting day wear that came out one after another in an array of tweeds in various mixtures of black, grey, white and pink. The sporty looks were impeccable. The winter coats are perfect and worth fighting for. Very ultra chic.
Evening was light, delicate and feminine and had the CHANEL touches and details that looked romantic and elegant. Ultra chic continues here. Soft looks and delicate blouses were paired with beautiful trousers to a beautiful steel grey silk charmuse number over a light soft pink dress. You just have to have a look for yourself and witness the beautiful line up and enjoy these top drawer looks.
From beginning to end this collection is not only created by the genius of Lagerfeld but also by the hands of the ateliers of CHANEL. The atelier did wonderful work in embroidery, sequin and bead work and intricate lace patch work. This collection is one that Mademoiselle CHANEL would be proud of and certainly tickled pink about it and she would have been amused at the idea of the new vintage look.
This Fendi collection is Karl Lagerfeld's take on daytime chic. The idea of Italian women dressing like they used to on the streets of Milan or Rome was the inspiration. There was a display of neutrals such as black, camel, ivory and navy with a splash of color and stripes. There was so much going on in cut and details. Lagerfeld rounded, flanged, caped, extended and exposed shoulders on jackets, dresses and tops. Colorful mini geometrics were embroidered on shirtings, lush cable knits on sheer chiffon were present and wonderful shirt looks were displayed in stripes. While there were some sporty looks, there were also some look that gave a unique touch like the square apron-like bodices edged in ruffles. For Fendi furs they were made in with fox and were done in a long, hippie like way in color tinged medallions. Of course the accessories were present in various shapes and sizes and textures that are all made with the essential Fendi touch and quality.
Lagerfeld certainly designed clothes that are luxuriously and quite elegant for day and night all rolled up into one.
Up and away Chanel goes for Spring 2012 with a beautiful collection of a rainbow of blue hues according to Karl Lagerfeld. About 150 different shades of blue! The show took place in the Grand Palais in a setting of the interior of a luxe jet plane that brought back the luxury of flying with an aisle wide enough for a collection that was just wonderfully Chanel. This took five days to set up and the carpet has the little insignias of the double C of the Chanel brand all in shades of blue and when the show was going on, the clouds were floating by outside the windows.
The dresses had pockets at the hips to give a sense of feel and casualness and they were short for day and long for evening. The sleeves were ample and the boatnecklines were exaggerated and stood up, from tweeds and boucle to beading and embroidery all done in a new way and in new materials. The beading was fabulously heavy on some dresses and the peek-a-boo effect on the stockings right below the hem added a subtle dazzling touch to the legs.
At the end Lagerfeld came out of the cockpit to give his walk to the applause of delight.
The entire collection held true to the Chanel traditions and the premiers andpetite mains all did an amazing job in executing fabulous new shapes and silhouettes according to Lagerfeld's vision. And Karl is always ahead coming up with new ideas. Like he said after the show: "No Fifties. No Sixties. No Seventies. Just what I like."
The set that was a replica of the Place Vendôme with glass street lamps and the dome scraping monument that had an aluminium replica of the Mademoiselle herself was really breathtaking. It really set the tone for what was coming. And what showed up was a true Chanel collection that was was a mixture of androgyny and femininity. It was amazing!
I love that Mr. Lagerfeld plays with new silhouettes every season. Offering everything from daywear to eveningwear, this collection does not miss a beat. Keeping the integrity of the Chanel look and aesthetic, Lagerfeld always gives it a clever twist of newness and edge that goes with the time we are in, always moving forward.
Most importantly, Lagerfeld gets every single aspect of the hands of couture busy, all of which ultimately create these magnificent, chic clothes.
Karl Lagerfeld for CHANEL
This season the peplum is the focal point of this collection which is done in so many different ways. The suits in black and white tweed are modern, boxy and classic, the skirts were to the knee, and the evening wear had some wow factors that are perfect for the red carpet. This wonderful collection brought back the attention that haute couture was all about full wardrobe-dressing. Somehow some designers missed the mark in the past but not the house of Chanel.
In the present it is setting the example as Mademoiselle always has done so. Sssssnap!
Karl Lagerfeld is the ultimate freelancing designer. For Chanel it seems as though he has been the channel of Coco and makes the brand look modern, classic, and edgy, if that makes sense. With Lagerfeld in the creative helm since 1983, the House of Chanel has been quite a presence in the fashion world today as it has been in the past. Today Chanel still continues to be a name that will forever be a classic.
Karl Lagerfeld
Lagerfeld's inspiration for Chanel's Spring 2011 Couture Collection is artist Marie Laurencin. In 1923 she designed Les Biches, a ballet commissioned by Diaghlev with a scenario by Cocteau. The lightness and transparent like clothes were whispers of inspiration that were washed in beautiful light pastels and dipped in crystals, beads and sequins. The classic tweed suits were made with a twist, with an updated silhouette that is perfect for today's fashion. The dominant element in the collection were the skinny pants done in all fabrics and textures. When the show was over the curtains and mirror were raised and the entire collection was displayed on the mock up of the mirrored stairs of the house of Chanel where Coco would discreetly sit and watch her collection presentation.
CHANEL Couture
Spring 2011
The passion that Karl Lagerfeld has for Chanel is always greatly expressed
and the result is just delightful.
All resources that can be thought of is always used
to create these beautiful couture collections.
I love that the legend of Chanel goes on and on and on.
The final days of Paris Fashion Week are here. Wonderful ideas were exposed to the world for everyone to see and it is not over yet. For today's presentation continued to expose even more wonderful ideas.
There is something for anyone who loves beautiful ensembles for cocktail or evening. The collection from Collette Dinnigan offers such a variety of prettiness and elegance. There is a variety that goes from classic evening suits to dresses to beautiful gowns. There were some dresses with black taffeta motifs overlaid on sheer fabric and some were of embellished laced with jet beading. One cannot resist getting at least one outfit from this collection. Or maybe two or three....
The collection of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac served up a line of sportswear that was cleverly mixed with trendy wools, tweeds, and leathers mixed with a variety of prints, plaids, detailed motifs and interesting color combinations. This season the collection has wearability power for sure..
When Maria Graza Chiuri and Pierre Paolo Piccioli took over the designing helm at Valentino, they faced a lot of hard core critiques from the fashion world. And I got to say that this collection will give them high praises for building a beautiful line up of clothes that will tickle the fancy of every woman at every age. A very Valentino looking collection with the ease of modern, contemporary influence looked fresh, classic and youthful that anyone of any age would want to wear. The suits and dresses were a pure lady like luxe, great trenches of leather, and fantastic evening wear. What a wonderful job! What a wonderful vision!
Valentino Fall/Winter 2011
Sarah Burton created 'The Ice Queen and her Court' in black, white and lavender and it is so Alexander McQueen. So many creative combinations of hand loomed silk, wools, tweeds. Beautiful velvets with studs, ample skirts of a honeycombed shapes and the marvelous, exquisite evening gowns. Could the rumor be fulfilled that Kate Middleton may be wearing a McQueen wedding dress? Who knows? I do have to say though, that this collection was brilliant and beautiful.
Alexander McQueen
Fall/Winter 2011
Chanel was dominated by menswear. A great deal of masculinity was exhibited with so much Chanel that is more powerful than the dominance. Mostly black, white and gray was present and there were a spot of colored jackets such as a red and a green one. There were Chanel suits mixed with jean like leggings, jumpsuits in thick tweeds and there were some sparkle as well. A tough collection only to have Chanel to dominate it with that Leo pride.
One more day of exposure of ideas are left. Soon we will see some of these ideas exposed even more so all over the world.
