Ritzy. Chanel Pre-Fall’17

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Whenever Chanel does a pre-collection presentation, you know every single detail regarding it a month earlier. The press is burning with the show’s fancy, far-fetched location; Instagram feed is all in #chanel. This time, however, Karl Lagerfeld and the legendary French maison decided to slow it down a bit with their PR – or at least, stay at home. And specifically, in the newly re-opened Ritz hotel on Place Vendome, just a few steps away from the brand’s flagship store on rue du Cambon. Although you can’t call this ‘modesty’, going a bit more traditional than usual is simply… reasonable.

In fact, there were three Chanel shows in one day – the first was presented during a chic brunch; the second started at the time of lunch; and the last during a fancy dinner. The guests (everybody from the fashion editors to couture clients) had a way better day than you, that’s for sure. The clothes were excellent comparing to the last few seasons where Karl did literary everything, from a faux women’s protest to a glossy IT room. I guess it’s because Chanel looks best, when worn in real Paris, rather than in non-sense, meaningless venues. The dining rooms of Ritz perfectly matched Lagerfeld’s vision of cosmolitan elegance. Slouchy knitted cardigans and tweed pencil skirts; black tulle dresses styled with deluxe duvet jackets; shoulder pads and layers of pearl necklaces. According to the designer, the collection was an reflection of and ode to “people from all over the world who’ve come to the Ritz. There were hundreds of dinners in the ’20s and ’30s, where women wore incredible things.” But the most intriguing thing about this collection is the lack of the ’60s’, ’70s’ or ’90s’ tags, which are overused by others in the industry. “You cannot tell from the collection what decade it is, and I think that is modern“. Good point.

Couture – Atelier. Chanel AW16

July 9, 2016July 9, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel venue productions are always over-the-top fancy, and always too unreal. But for autumn-winter 2016, Karl Lagerfeld decided to make his haute couture show an actual haute couture atelier. The legendary petites mains from Rue Cambon were transported to Grand Palais with all their sewing machines, becoming a living and breating setting for the models.

“Behind the girls in the show, there are 200 more who make what they wear—that’s quite a lot, no?—and I thought we should show them to the public too.” For this season’s couture, Chanel praised the women who are behind all the coveted tweed pantsuits, duchesse satin dresses and floriform embroidery. However, it seems like the heart of the house was exposed to the crowd; the intimacy of couture-making was disturbed for good, being suddenly photographed and tagged for social media. And surely, producing such venue is a desperate move to steal the spotlight.

But let’s not forget about the clothes, or rather wearable pieces of art. Although first looks were very classical and very Coco, the gowns which were emerging from the “atelier” oozed with drama. Black, tulle gown worn by Molly Bair with an exaggerated collar looked spectacular, while Edie Campbell’s closing look, so an embellished, pink coat with feathers on the back, was ethereal. The concept is ambiguous; the dresses are great. Quite average, as for Chanel.

Cuba. Chanel Resort 2017

May 5, 2016May 23, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

On Monday, Karl Lagerfeld took his cool ladies, like Tilda Swinton and Carine Roitfeld, to Cuba, and not to the fussy MET Gala filled with cheesy Balmain-gowns and Kim K klan. In fact, everybody thought that Manus x Machina event in New York, and its “galore”, would dim Chanel – but all eyes were on swirling, organza skirts and Stella Tennant’s chic show opening. Dressed in a classy Cubanos smoking, with over-sized collars and pantalons, the monochrome colour palette dynamically evolved into peach-pink and lemon-yellow silhouettes. Floaty dresses, 50s car prints on t-shirts and functional flip-flops – joy and easiness was perceivable along Paseo del Prado, scented with male models’ cigars which were smoked nonchalantly during their walk. Debutante dresses were all about the embroidered, slightly tattered sleeves, showing an homage to Hispanic ruffles which are so popular on the colourful streets of Havana. Even the show venue, a public street, didn’t feel like previous, slightly pretentious resort shows by Chanel – Ibeyi, French-Cuban twin-sisters, Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz performed a soulful, temperamental song just at the beginning of the show. By the end, models, guests, Cuban passersby and the designer himself, danced… and it all looked like a cheerful parade of wearble fashion and Latin attitude.

Of course, these clothes will cost their average, Chanel prices – but still, Karl and his team managed to pull it off in a casual way. Showing a Chanel collection on the streets of a communist country might be risky, and in effect look too distant and Euro-posh. But to my surprise, the collection was a laid-back line of carefree styling, without much of pressure on Cuba’s culture and references. Focusing on a diverse casting (big plus for the brand) and relaxed leisurewear, Lagerfeld has effortlessly started the Resort 2017 season – with grace, and in Cuban rythm.

Collage by me

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!