Showing posts with label Chanel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chanel. Show all posts

January 29, 2011

A Modest Lagerfeld and the Chanel S/S '11 Couture Collection


A most modest Karl Lagerfeld tells Hilary Alexander of Telegraph that "I'm lucky because I'm doing exactly what I want to do... maybe I could do better but I try" in a short interview with topics ranging from his latest couture collection, his favorite types of books, his latest musical taste and even his reasoning for straying away from his signature all-black look! Find out for yourself and watch below, followed by a look into Chanel's Spring collection from Couture Week.

This Spring's haute couture collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel captured what I thought to be a more playfully romantic side of the brand. Lagerfeld was inspired by artist Marie Laurencin, who painted an effortlessly soft and fluid portrait of Miss Coco Chanel in 1923. At the time, both Laurencin and Chanel were each designing for a ballet of their own, another element of inspiration for this couture season's graceful collection of pastel pinks, flowing chiffons and even the simple backless pointed flats the models walked in this week's show. This was, sadly enough, one of my least favorite collections from Chanel, as the signature suits looks half-heartedly frumpy and the (typically divine) gowns looked a bit ostentatious and overdone reminding me of the '80s, a time known for its excessive poof dresses that of which Lagerfeld's designs resembled way too closely. However, I do think that as always, Mr. Lagerfeld successfully told his story of inspiration through the graceful mood and ambiance that was presented on the runway, while also incorporating signature Chanel design details that are important to keeping the originality of the brand. From this collection, we saw the ever-so-famous Chanel dropped waistlines, boxy silhouettes, and two-tones (not particularly on the shoes, but on tunics and jackets - to name a few). Below is the original portrait painted by Marie Laurencin of Mademoiselle Chanel, followed by the looks that I enjoyed most from 60+ look collection.
Marie Laurencin, "Portrait of Mademoiselle Chanel," 1923

My absolute favorite. An updated maxi tutu and a boxy sparkle tee. Perfect feminine frill and modern elegance.
Photo Credits: www.style.com

June 3, 2010

How often does this happen?

Today me and my friend, Meg, walked to the Chelsea Galleries all along 26th and 25th streets to go to the opening exhibitions. I had been to the galleries before, but never to the opening night for the artists - It was quite the social scene. I will post about that later, but the story moves on into the Meatpacking District, where I was strolling along and looked up to see Chloë Sevigny cross my path... again... right in front of me. The funniest part about it all was that she was wearing the same exact outfit as the day before - graphic tee and faded skinnies, except her suspenders were now hanging by her knees and simple flip flops replaced her Chanel mules from the day before. How often do you see the same celeb two days in a row.... wearing the same outfit? As my roommate said, "It's good to know she does it too...." (very true.)

June 2, 2010

Just another day in New York..

Today I met up with two of my friends to satisfy ourselves with delishhh froyo after a hot day in the city. 16 Handles was the place of choice for many reasons.. well, it has sixteen flavors to choose from, you fill the cup yourselves with the variety of froyo / toppings, and the low-fat/ sugar-free signs always make you feel better so that you can put extra chocolately delicious toppings on since your not eating as many calories from the yogurt. I'm going overboard with the froyo talk, but to make a long story short.... We headed outside to to the St. Marks Church square, come to find out that a movie was shooting. We obviously snooped around and watched until we recognized someone.. Ginnifer Goodwin was acting for the movie Something Blue, based on the NY Times Bestselling book series by Emily Giffin. We were watching them slowly shoot the same scene over and over again for a while, then out of nowhere came Chloë Sevigny walking on to the set to hug Ginnifer. She sat in the VIP tent with all the "directors" chairs lined up, just to watch the shoot. Anyways, it was an exciting surprise so I attemped to capture the moment with my Blackberry, (it didn't go so well), but here is some documentation anyways!
Just hanging out on set..


Chloë wears a graphic tee tucked into faded skinny jeans, suspenders and Chanel mule clogs.
Ginnifer wears a green floral sundress, black flats... and a brunette wig! (costume)

Ginnifer & Chloë skipping on back to the wardrobe trailer

April 26, 2010

Rainy Days

I'm sorry for the short post, as I haven't written much lately because of my busy end of the semester school schedule and my sister's wedding approaching in less than a week! (Exciting!!) However, I was looking through old magazines while searching for interesting lighting techniques for a Photography project, and came across this weather-appropriate photograph in W magazine. Thought this might brighten up these rainy days!
Crocodile and Chrome Lunchbox Set: Paige Gamble
Bicycle with Quilted Side Bag: Chanel (who knew??)
Rain Boots: Hermes

Photo Credit: W - May 2008

April 5, 2010

Fashionable Fizz

Always looking for new and strategic branding approaches, Karl Lagerfeld recently collaborated with Coca Cola to create Coca Cola Light. The stylish beverage will be launched April 28th across France, along with the fun pop of advertisements shot by Lagerfeld, himself, for the campaign.The creative king also designed the packaging label, incorporating his unmistakable silhouette and signature black suit, white collar and pony-tail look on the aluminum bottle. The full packaged soda bottle and coordinating bottle opener will be sold for $64 - a wee bit ostentatious but hey, it's designer soda!

"Lagerfeld has long been a fan of diet cola, and says he prefers to drink it in a delicate crystal goblet to accentuate the taste." - WWD

March 30, 2010

Back to Couture Week - - Spring 2010

I had researched SS'10 Couture Week back in February and had yet to report
on some of the new and continuing trends that I found within the collections:
Highwaisted is a continuing style that has been ongoing for about two years now. Seen in both skirts and pants, the high-waisted trend is still prevelant in both Spring & Fall 2010 collections.

Metallic: an accent within garments that we have seen in the past 2 seasons is getting ever more popular. Metal influences are shown ranging from bronze, gold, silver with a weathered appearance or high-shine look.

How about that Couture Chanel gown? - to die for.


Lastly, my all-time favorite - Bodysuits: we saw a 1970s retro influence on the runways with full body suits. Some were done in a flowy and care-free style, while a straight and tailored look was also seen. Spring/Summer 2009, the romper trend was quite successful, so it only makes sense that the bodysuit will be a strong style this year.

Designer Looks from: style.com

January 31, 2010

Couture shoes please?

After looking at the Spring '10 Couture collections, it is a flashing red reminder that I will 95% positively never own a Couture garment (I keep a 5% chance open... optimistically of course.) However, maybe one day I will be able to own Couture shoes? Well, just a thought... Here are some heels from from the runway that I adored:

I usually tend to think metallic silver on heels is tacky, but look at that heel and studded platform!


Are bow-tied ankles the next new shoe trend?

January 28, 2010

Haute Couture.. what about fashion for today?


John Paul Gaultier for Christian Dior, Spring Couture 2010

Hello all!
I just caught up on all the Spring Couture shows from Paris and will be updating you on my favorite looks and major trends I saw within the shows - Alexis Mabille, Anne Valérie Hash, Armani Privé, Chanel, Christian Dior, Elie Saab, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thimister, Valentino - from this past week. In the mean time, today the New York Times published an article titled, "Tempted by History," in their Fashion Review section, which gave Couturiers a bad reputation for taking inspiration for their collections from designs that have already been done in the past. This is a topic that is frequently discussed in many of my classes at F.I.T. Designers are constantly going "back in time," and taking their inspiration from different periods throughout history, art work, culture, etc. but what ever happened to fashion for today? Karl Lagerfeld himself stated,


"I don't believe in avant garde clothes for a future that will never happen. Fashion is always now."
I completely agree with the NYT and Lagerfeld. Fashion is supposed to be for the people of today. This past Fall/Winter season, there was a trend of 40's fashion stressed on the runways and promoted in major magazine editorials (such as, US Vogue & Harper's Bazaar). According to Stylesight.com, this Spring was supposed to be all about Dior's New Look, influenced by 50's style. But why should designers reflect back into vintage fashion when they should be creating designs for the people of 2010? Come to think of it, the last "clothing invention" was Diane Von Furstenburg's wrap dress and that was how many decades ago?

Just thought I'd get your minds off the glitz and glamour of couture because as much as I love looking and dreaming about fashion, in the end, haven't we seen those garments before?

January 26, 2010

Mademoiselle Coco



I watched Coco Chanel last night with my boyfriend (what a wonderful boyfriend right?) Besides the fact that it was about 2.5 hours, it was great! I have already told you about my obsession with Mary Kate and Ashley, but I don't believe I have filled you in about my obsession with Chanel. Here it goes...

Since day one of stepping into the Fashion Institute of Technology, my professors have been constantly stressing the importance of two questions that will "definitely" be asked at all fashion industry related job interviews - whether it be an internship or career based. 1. Who is your favorite photographer? .. and .. 2. Who is your favorite designer(s) and why? To be honest, I haven't decided on question #1 yet, but every season (fashion season that is) I have come closer and closer to declaring good ol' Chanel as my top choice to question #2.

Why you may ask? I love the stability of Chanel.. the classic roots that each collection reflects back to. However, every season, Karl Lagerfeld seems to surprise me, whether it is the elements of the garments, the detailing of the stitching, the silhouette's divine movement down the runway or whether it is the most updated approach to the classic Chanel suit. When looking at Chanel from season to season, there is always a smooth relation between each collection, yet a unique difference that makes each line so interesting.

But my fascination does not stop there! I took a class last year called Product Knowledge for Merchandising. It was a great class and we studied everything from jewelry design to handbag construction. Our final project was to write 10-15 page paper on a fashion-related company focusing on a product that the company specializes in. If you can't guess, I picked Chanel handbags and ended up writing 20 pages! I learned so much about the history of the company and how Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel started her career from nothing. It was all so intriguing and truely sparked my interest and love for Chanel.

For those who of you who do not know the full history of Chanel, there are countless numbers of books dedicated to the designer that I would highly recommend reading. I loved the movie too, however I think if I did not previously know about Coco's life, I would not have fully understood the storyline.

xoxo.

January 16, 2010

Chanel meets french provincial? Not exactly..

Not exactly what I expected from Chanel for the SS'10 RTW collection. Although Chanel is one of my favorite designers, this season was not my all-time favorite - sad I know... The runway was transformed into what appeared to be inside a barn, with hay covering the entire runway scene. The country set was extended with models strutting a white/beige/black/brown color scheme with a few denim accents. The collection began with a bit of a Ralph Lauren country ranch feel to it, then clothing seemed to tranform into a flemish 1700s influence, further tranforming into the classic Chanel we all love and dream about- pretty lace, vintage inspired looks. As always the classic Chanel suit look was brought to the runway, but with mule clogs and shortened skirts. I suppose this is one of the reasons I love Chanel, they are always true to the Coco roots, but give just the right amount of pre-runway anxiety to wonder what they will bring to the fashion world the coming season. I pulled a few looks that I really did love from the SS'10 collection for their brilliant detailing and unique-ness that Chanel always achieves.


Oh, and PS. the mule clogs still haven't
grown on me - remember my post?


 
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