HC – Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar & Margiela SS16

January 30, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld presented a utopian vision of his ecological world – a wooden, sauna-like pavilion was built inside Grand Palais, and the catwalk was cultivated with grass. The collection was indeed all about organic textiles. The geometric lace gown, which was worn as a wedding dress by Mica Arganaraz, is actually embroidered with such materials as wood shavings, breads, rhinestones and chiffon. Moreover, it’s entirely “made from wild cotton” and as the designer said “this is high-fashion ecology. It must not look like some sloppy demonstration!” To make it even more sustainable, all the wedges were made of cork, while the signature Coco Chanel bouclé jackets had the illusion of a bark texture. But let’s not fool ourselves – this collection is a bit like the politically labeled SS15 ready-to-wear outing, where the models pretended to demonstrate women’s rights with their Chanel banners and 3000 euros bags. In case of this couture collection, the significant topic of ecology feels like a one-season, shallow trend. Last season Lagerfeld was over the top with neoprene, a textile which can’t be obtained in any possible, biodegradable nor organic way. So doing an eco collection feels like an idea which came out of the blue.

Bouchra Jarrar

The French designer, Bouchra Jarrar, reinteprets couture each season, making it look effortless (and usually too ready-to-war). But whatever they say, her elegant and calm collections ooze with Parisian chic. For spring-summer 2016, Jarrar focued on the pants, which are surely the most sleek and well-tailored of all. The coats with fur collars make me drool up to now, while the delicate velvet dresses in ecru are all about the toned, couture details.

Maison Margiela

“Is haute couture falling apart? No, it’s just Maison Margiela by John Galliano”. I agree with you, Suzy Menkes. Margiela under Galliano‘s wings starts to look like a low-budget sham of luxurious textiles which are waisted on an “artisanal” drama. The recent collection is a mess and it’s not an art expression. Martin Margiela was known for his signature clothes deconstruction and the “out of the studio” effect, where everything felt raw and unfinished. But in John’s hands, it all looks like a “fashion” junk.

Paris – Rome. Chanel Pre-Fall’16

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Staging a Chanel fashion show in Rome for Metiers d’Art collection (in other words, Pre-Fall 2016) wasn’t that clear at the first sight. However, Karl Lagerfeld had a very reasonable answer for his decision – only a few know that in the 50’s, Coco Chanel designed for the incredible, classy actresses like Jeanne Moreau, Anouk Aimée, Monica Vitti, and Romy Schneider, all of whom starred in Italian movies by Visconti and Pasolini wearing her chic tweeds and dresses. As you might know, I was recently very skeptic about Karl’s last few collections for the legendary Parisian house – the glossy, Cara Delevigne-packed model squad and Instagram-moment venues made Chanel a brand which rather looked towards media, than the clothes. However, this time, Karl showed a graceful collection, which was fully focused on the clothes. The serene, moody setting of an Italian cinema was a perfect background for the film noir lace dresses, masculine coats, leather “pasta” embroideries (this part makes me love Lessage studio even more – they made my favourite farfalle look absolutely great on a dress!) and sultry, leather pencil skirts and jackets. What caught everybody’s attention were the lace tights. They had a femme fatale atitude when worn with pointy Mary-Janes pumps. So Italian. So on point with the deliberately sexy and elusive theme of the entire collection. The hair, done by Sam McKnight, was all about messy beehives and the girls, with their smoky eyes, looked effortlessly glamorous, just like the icons of Italian cinema. Also, the model casting was just the right choice – the designer mixed the catwalk veterans, like Lara Stone and Freja Beha, with a diversity of newcomers – from Lineisy Montero, Molly Bair and Mica Arganaraz to Stella Lucia, Greta Varlese and Alexandra Elizabeth. You’re back on the good track, Karl!

HC – Casino. Chanel AW15

July 8, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

This season, Karl Lagerfeld took us to a casino in oder to show, that everybody there wear Chanel haute couture. Karl’s muse splash – Stella Tennant, Kristen Stewart, Lara Stone, Julianne Moore – gambled on the roulette tables while the models circled the spacious runway. But it seemed, that this what the models wore during the show was the least important. The whole event of a casino stole the spotlight and nobody really looked at the fashion part. Well, maybe because all those dresses, little (black) jackets and tweed skirts felt… boring? During the last few seasons, if talking of couture, Karl gives us the same idea behind the clothes. Classy, lady-like silhouettes without any fantasy. Just look back at the last few seasons. The scenarios of runways are always amazing and Instagram-worthy, but the dresses (and haute couture is mostly about beautiful dresses!) are being neglected.

K-Coco. Chanel Resort 2016

May 5, 2015May 6, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel went Korea (Seoul specifically) this time. For Resort 2016 (yes, already for next spring). Coco listening to K-Pop? Minnie Mouses which are all about CC? It’s another Karl Lagerfeld fantasy, where everything is covered with camelias, made of tweed and embellished with chains. Also, for this pre-summer collection, Chanel went “modern” and brought bold geometric patterns which rather make me think of 70’s than the futurism of the Far East. Naturally, it was all about being cute and youthful, which is explained through the very excessive dose of blush pink colour. I can’t say the collection was bad, but it lacked originality and sense, just like in everything Chanel does lately.

Gabrielle’s Brasserie. Chanel AW15

March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

“A vision of France from a stranger who thinks France is not that bad.” Karl Lagerfeld has grown increasingly tired of the cynical negativity, much of it from the French themselves. So, creating a Brasserie Gabrielle as a venue for Chanel’s AW15 show was the right idea – what cheers up a French as much as a good lunch with red wine? Well, only a new Chanel bag. But the space was too vast to communicate the charm of a real brasserie in Paris, even those as big as Balzar which is Lagerfeld’s favourite. Actually, it’s the first time when the usual, fabulously great concept for a Chanel show stumbled. But still, it felt nice.

If talking of the clothes, you know me. When there are 98 Chanel looks in one Chanel collection, I easily get bored. Why? Because they are all mostly the same. Boucle, tartan check, CC logo, pearls… all those Chanelised codes seem to sink in this big amount of clothes. And I always feel sad that quantity wins over the quality at Chanel shows. But the thing that surprised me were the shoes – or rather, one pair of shoes. Each model had the same pair of shoes! The classical, beige Coco pumps. I liked that. After all those ugly tweed sneakers and crystalized heels, a simple pair of beige pumps feels like a healthy detox.