Fashion Week Handbags: Chanel Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

No matter the season, you can always count on Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel show for at least one thing: a very strong theme. For Chanel Spring 2012, you had to look no further than Kaiser Karl’s seashell clutches to find the oceanic common thread that ran through the entire collection. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Lagerfeld was inspired by the shore; after all, the runway was lined with sand.

I’m not sure how many times a woman will have an opportunity to wear a conch shell-shaped clutch in her sartorial life, but if you’ve got a beach wedding on the horizon any time in, oh, the next ten years, I’d hazard a guess that these are the best bags you’ll find to carry to such an event. As always, Chanel will do lots of non-runway bags if you’re looking for something a little less literal, but a few of these bags make me long for a beach vacation something fierce.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Chanel Fall 2011

Oh, Karl Lagerfeld. You had me at The Cure.

There weren’t many handbags to be found on the catwalk at Chanel Fall 2011, which struck me as something of a surprise. Chanel fully acknowledges the place of leather goods in its company history, and normally part of its enthusiasm for accessories spills over onto the runway in the form of lots of goodies for handbag lovers. This time, though, there was relatively little to see.

What we did see in the goth dystopia that Lagerfeld created in Paris’ Grand Palais was quite good. Most of the bags were of the chain-strapped flap variety, but Lagerfeld got rid of the brand’s iconic quilting and leather-woven handles to give a starker take on a Chanel classic. Little quilted hand-held bags were spotted here and there, but mostly the models walked with their hands empty, perhaps in a nod to the bleak-chic setting of the show. Although I’m disappointed to not have seen more bags, now I’m even more excited for press previews. Chanel wins again.

Photos via Vogue.com.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Chanel Spring 2011

Over the past few seasons, I’ve noticed more and more Chanel fans expressing disappointment of one sort or another with the brand’s handbags. Too gimmicky, too expensive, not loyal enough to the brand’s customer base – we heard at least one, if not all, of those opinions every time we posted about a Chanel bag in this space. If you’re a former client who has found yourself disenchanted, you may want to take a look at the bags from Chanel Spring 2011.

It’s difficult to term this collection a return to form, since the brand seems to always churn out a few sought-after bags every season, no matter what. So I’ll just say this: many of the bags that went down the runway in Paris’s Grand Palais yesterday presented wearable, luxurious, aesthetically pleasing options for grown women in a variety of situations. From tiny, glittering flap evening bags to clutches made to look like old leather-bound books, the inventiveness of seasons past was still present; it just managed to show up alongside things like oversized 2.55 leather clutches without a gimmick in sight.

Photos via Style.com.

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Paris Haute Couture Week: Chanel

Most people who follow fashion know the Chanel signatures very well: black, ivory, bouclé, suits, camellias, black, ivory. Rinse, repeat. Karl Lagerfeld’s Spring 2010 haute couture collection of graphic white and silver was a significant departure from the Chanel aesthetic that we have all come to expect, and his Chanel Fall/Winter 2010 Haute Couture collection is yet another giant step into new territory.

The most startling things about this collection were the surprising choices in color and proportion. Normally Chanel’s color palette is very predictable, but these clothes were rendered in the very un-Chanel shades of maroon, gold, navy and brown. Proportion was primarily at play in the collection’s suits and coats – abbreviated jackets were paired with below-the-knee flared skirts, coats were often boxy and straight or puffed to comical proportions. As always with Chanel couture, the real fireworks started after the show’s halfway point, where somewhat odd suits and jackets gave way to beading and embroidery so intricate and masterful that an in-person viewing would surely be required in order to appreciate the skill of the work in full. In the end, this collection should be counted as a bold achievement on the part of Lagerfeld and his team even if the suits and coats looked to hold it back at times.

Photos via Style.com

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Paris Couture Week: Chanel

First, I’d like to say that I’m so incredibly happy that Chanel Haute Couture chose to do something more interesting for their show this season than they did for their show last season. Although, if you find silver and white boring, this may be another loser for you.

It was a winner for me, however. For the first time in his lengthy career, Karl Lagerfeld created a collection that completely eschewed black and navy – in fact, it eschewed color of any sort, save for a few traditional Chanel suits with a culotte twist (I just dry heaved a little bit there), which were rendered in various pastels. The collection was beautifully draped, beaded and rendered in the most unforgiving color palette you can imagine for the construction of clothing, but it all worked exactly as it should have. Of course it did; it’s couture.

Lagerfeld has said that the collection came to him in a 5 a.m. dream-like flash, and he referred to it as “neon rococo.” It wasn’t exactly neon, but it did have a great deal of glitzy intricacy, which more or less fulfills the “rococo” part of that proclamation. While the beading motifs may have reflected an old-world sensibility and craftsmanship, some of the elements – foiled stripes on a white dress, the high-gloss silver booties that every model wore, Baptiste Giabiconi’s metallic suit as he escorted the traditional end-of-collection couture bride – were at least a bit reminiscent of the most fashionable sci-fi movie you’ve never seen. If the people that made those movies dressed their actors in Chanel couture, I might reconsider my hatred of the genre.

                        

Photos via Fashionologie.com

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Paris Haute Couture Week Fall 2009

There are few more joyous occasions in fashion than Paris Couture Week, although this year’s flamboyant celebration of clothing and artistry has been somewhat hampered by the depressed economy and the impending departure of one of the genre’s greatest voices, Christian Lacroix. The fact that he was able to put on a show at all is the big story of the week; suppliers and industry friends helped the designer piece together a last-minute collection and presentation for what could be his last couture show if his brand doesn’t find a backer quickly. It demonstrates an odd sort of collegiality among fashion industry workers that many on the outside looking in might overlook in the midst of so much glitz and fabulousness – it takes an army of people to make this happen for us a few times a year, and they work extremely long hours for really modest pay. That so many of them donated their time, skills and goods to Lacroix to put together what may be his final show is kind of touching, particularly in an industry known for ego and elitism. He’s not the only one to put on a show for fashion editors and couture customers this week, though – we’ve got a rundown of the best looks from the best shows, after the jump.

Christian Lacroix

Since this may be Lacroix’s last appearance, I thought it was only fitting that he went first. His collection was based mostly on fabrics and other materials that he already had in his atelier, which mostly resulted in looks far more restrained and widely understandable than average for the haute couture master. Perhaps the more accessible looks will help Lacroix’s label find investors; one can only hope. The bright spot of hope was the small collection’s final look – an intricate wedding dress worthy of the Virgin Mary rendered in stained glass. It was so thoroughly and classically Lacroix that it almost reasserted that the man intended to soldier on and make beautiful clothing.

Chanel

I suspect that I may have been the only one that felt this way, but I just wasn’t feeling the majority of Chanel’s collection. Sure, the 60+ look presentation was chock full of beautiful clothes; some of them were even breathtaking. And I know it’s a Chanel staple and part of the brand’s history, but I just don’t care to see more than a dozen versions of a wool skirt suit when I tune in to see Haute Couture. I want drama, I want a challenge, I want something I can’t wear to the office. As the presentation went on, things picked up nicely, but front-loading the suits made me feel like I had to wait quite a while before anything dramatic came along. And when it did, it was standard Chanel couture – lots of white, ivory, black and silver in looks that were thoroughly French and thoroughly intricate. Lace and beading abounded; I only wish that we could have skipped the suits and gone straight from the fabulous.

Valentino

I don’t associate Valentino with haute couture in the same way that I do Lacroix or Gaultier, but I was immensely impressed by their collection. It was full of enough black lace, darkly beautiful silk roses, and jet beading to choke a goth, but despite the somber palette, the mood of the show was surprisingly youthful. Lace mini dresses and black rose-themed cocktail attire are on my fantasy list of night-out options, and Valentino’s stable of master couturiers realizes those options masterfully, in a way that is both young and extravagant. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s really pretty.

Christian Dior

Another couturier choosing to not reinvent the wheel for this season was John Galliano at Christian Dior. Which is not to say that it wasn’t totally sublime – oh, it definitely was. The collection was a throwback to New Look Dior, simultaneously intricate and deconstructed in its use of corsetry and underpinnings as important elements of each ensemble. The colors were vibrant and cheerful, contrasting beautifully with the ivory and black base garments. This collection was a reminder of what couture is all about – extravagance, intricacy of construction, and clothing that can legitimately considered an art form. From the brilliantly enormous hats to the masterfully tailored coats and corsets, no collection reminded me more that couture is a single piece of clothing made for a single customer.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Ahh, I saved the best for last. From Brigitte Bardot to Barbarella, Jean Paul Gaultier gave us a collection loosely based on the screen sirens of yesterday and today. And the clothes were full of film fantasy – alligator overalls, floor-length fur, mini dresses that appear to be made of liquid metal. Gaultier is a master of the outrageous and fantastic, and he makes the clothes that I wish I could wear, if I had an endless budget and the self-confidence necessary to pull off something like a sequin-covered sailor shirt. Anyone that can conceive of such amazing garments not only wins at couture week, but wins at life.

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Fashion Week Spring 2010: Chanel

I must disagree, strenuously and vociferously, with the reintroduction of the wood-bottom clog to the high fashion lexicon. Even when these particular wood-bottom clogs are from Chanel Spring 2010. I will not stand for it.

What I do like, however, is smiling. Models smiling. When was the last time that you saw model after model, looking reasonably happy and human, in a major fashion show. In the fashion show of Paris Fashion Week? And do my eyes deceive me, or was supermodel Sasha Pivovarova talking on a cell phone on the runway?

And is that hay? Did Karl Lagerfeld turn the Grand Palais into a barn?

Yes and yes.

Quite honestly, regardless of the clothes (which were reasonably fabulous, but not the best of the week. Like I said in a previous post, Alexander McQueen already won), Chanel’s show appeared to be the most joyful. At my college, we had a saying: our team may occasionally lose a football game, but we’ve never lost a party. And that’s exactly what Chanel did this week: they won the party. I mean, they even had a live band! With Lily Allen! Was there a keg? If there was a keg, I bet it was really nice beer.

                                                    

Images via Style.com.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Chanel

Like the rest of Chanel’s Spring 2010 collection, the bags that we saw walk their runway (barnway?) were more rustic-chic than classic Parisian. Whether that’s your thing or not, Karl Lagerfeld certainly seems to believe in it.

The problem with Chanel, though, is that for better or for worse, they have a lot of aesthetic history to consider when a new collection is designed, and Lagerfeld usually chooses to acknowledge that history. What that means is that mostly, Chanel doesn’t innovate. They do something different here and there, and a lot of their bags are quite lovely, but rarely do we see them starting new bag trends.

I don’t know if that’s a positive or a negative – it just sort of is. If you like their aesthetic, then I’m sure you’re completely fine with what they do and how they do it. If you don’t, there are plenty of alternatives on which to spend your money. There are a few unexpected things in this accessories, but mostly it’s just the same bags we’ve seen with slightly frayed edges. I can totally understand if that’s what they want to send to retail, but I also can’t help but wish Lagerfeld & Co. would embrace the fantasy of the runway a little bit more in the accessories department.

                                            

Images via Style.com.

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