HC: In The Garden. Chanel SS15

January 31, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Am I the only one who thinks Karl Lagerfeld starts to be boring? This haute couture collection feels so… without life. The models were all dressed up as gardener wives, wearing ugly, anti-couture boots, widow straw hats and strange silhouettes, which are totally not eye-catchy. Definitely, if not the high retail of bags and cosmetics, the brand would feel some crisis. He claimed the show came to him in an electronic flash. “One morning in bed, I saw it in a second.” Or maybe he had a peek at the archives? SS10? Ring a bell? Same theme – cute dresses and a garden. But, then, the dresses were really cute.

Salzburg. Chanel Pre-Fall’15

December 2, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

The strongly anticipated Chanel metiers d’art collection for Pre-Fall 2015 is reavealed. In the heart of Schloss Leopoldskron, one of the most magnificient and historical places in Austria, the show was presented, keeping it between the border lines of Salzburg’s legacy and Karl Lagerfeld buzz. As you might guess, there were lots of embroideries, knits and embellishments which are not only typical for this region of Europe, but also for the metiers d’art tradition. First of all, Salzburg is the place where Coco Chanel found her first inspiration for the iconic little black jacket- just by seeing the lobby boy’s “outfit”. So, no wonder why we saw a lot of it here, in new colours and versions. Worn with sweat-pants (yes, in Austria), super opulent bags, feather trimmed hats and brogues, the clothes felt nostaligic with a fresh perspectve. Victorian turtlnecks and floral motives where here, too. Plus, the clothes for men reminded me more of waiters in Bavarian restaurant rather than Salzburg princes… Truly, I thought the collection will be much worse. But it wasn’t. It had a nice sense of humour, warm venue (not some kind of super-market) which was the Schloss library chamber. For a while I observed more deeply Karl Lagerfeld’s moves at Chanel and the outcome is- his Pre-Falls are better, than all the other collections. After Mumbai, Moscow, Edinbourgh, Dallas, Salzburg feels really fine- all of them are showing what metiers d’art is. And now, it’s time for Cracow in my opinion. The city’s charm would look great at Chanel’s next Pre-Fall…

Selling Feminism. Chanel SS15

October 4, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Karl Lagerfeld tried doing feminism after a super-market and space odyssey shows. And it felt so, so fake. If you spread feminism through fashion, then at list use more than three models of colour. Use plus-size models and not only the glossy Cara Delevigne and Georgia May Jagger combo which are skinny and “perfect”. It’s not feminism, Karl. It’s just giving a bunch of girls few posters with signs like Boys should also be pregnant or He for She. Showing this, and saying that it’s feminism, seems to be really funny and silly comparing to what, for example, happens in Turkey or Russia. These women really fight for women’s rights. Maybe I shouldn’t connect the fashion thing with politics, but using too big words for too small things isn’t a good matter for an important aim. And by the way- how many women in the world can buy every three months a one-season-only Chanel bag? I thing something is wrong up here… let’s just stay with one thing: MAKE FASHION in fashion (but unfortunately, even the horrible clothes didn’t help the whole collection out of the situation).

HC: Blend of Two. Chanel AW14

July 9, 2014July 9, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Like the dying embers of a baroque world, a gilded mirror hung in a modernist white space above a digitally-flamed fire, at the Chanel Haute Couture show yesterday in Paris. For this collection, Karl Lagerfeld thought of his vision of modernism. White neoprene gowns with baroque embroideries; curvilinear forms of a Le Corbusier building, the cloth moulded in an egg shape around the body, without any side seams; 21st Cinderella dresses; and a strange blend of the famous Paris-Edinburgh & Paris-Dubai collections Karl did earlier this year. The collection in my opinion is a bit normal. And somehow, I prefer couture on heels. Please, no more gladiator sandals! P.s. The last look was shown by Ashleigh Good, the seven month pregnant model. She wore a white cape with splendorous, gold, embroidered back. That moment was the most special in the whole collection.

Dubai. Chanel Resort’15

May 14, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Making it big for the shows is pretty natural for Karl Lagerfeld, who already took us to St.Tropez, Miami, Antibes and Singapore for his Resort collections. This time, we travelled to Dubai, the city of United Arab Emirates, that’s full of gold, petrol and luxury. So, no wonder… the collection was presented on a special Chanel island, that had a carved double C all over it! However, the collection itself was one of the worst, unfortunately. It didn’t have that Dubai opulence I wished of! It had flowers, moons, Scottish checks, blond version of Diana Ross curls and a lot of strange themes that seemed to be useless. I suppose Dubai summers are so cold you need to wear socks-up-to-knee… I certainly loved the camel gown that Joan Smalls wore with flats and trousers trousers. Oh yeah, trousers- I see Arabian harems are bag in beige! And I am a little bit disappointed that we didn’t see Sebastien Jondeau in a Chanelized sheikh costume. That’s it!

About the artist: Abdul Qader Al Raes is an artist from Dubai made famous by his monumental art works in palaces and distinguished public spaces.