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.

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).