Chanel Haute Couture F/W 2022.23 Paris

[gossiping]

i way prefer her other collections than HC... very dry

 

[Caffeine]

Question is...who could potentially replace her to be half as good as Karl?
I miss him so much

 

[Norden]

^ I miss Karl also. I watch his interviews every week. His wit, knowledge and just cultural depth and history is a treasure trove. It’s exactly that depth and fun that is sorely missing from
Virgines collection. While she’s very true to the visual cues of Karl’s Chanel, it feels devoid of any novelty. You’d wish she would bring some lightness and youth to atleast balance her lack of culture and story. Karl really left her a strong brand to work with, and I doubt this banal collection is making a bad impact on their bottom line.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Question is...who could potentially replace her to be half as good as Karl?
I miss him so much

I always thought Alber Elbaz was waiting in the wings to replace Karl but that turned out not to be the case. And sadly it won't ever be.

I had heard a very, very credible rumor that Marc Jacobs was hired to replace Karl even before he died but that either wasn't true or something happened and the Wertheimers changed their mind. I could imagine a number of reasons why.

My last pick would be Hedi Slimane. All those tweed jackets he does for Celine almost look like he's auditioning for Chanel. I'm sure Lagerfeld would approve. While I don't loooooove his Celine, his Chanel would be an immense commercial success, one that I bet he could easily sustain over decades. I can't imagine a conversation between him and the Wertheimers didn't happen so something didn't work out. Maybe he's contractually tied up with Celine and wasn't available. Or maybe he's simply not interested (unlikely).

Phoebe Philo could be really good, too.

 

[Lola701]

Question is...who could potentially replace her to be half as good as Karl?
I miss him so much

Nicolas, Phoebe and Haider…Mostly because of the same reason Karl was courted for the job: their aesthetic is nowhere near Chanel.
And I feel like with those three, there’s a room for experimentation and the desire to push fashion forward (with the limits of the Chanel aesthetic).

I’ve never been fan of the idea of Hedi: too obvious, too limited, too limiting. And plus he will never get the type of full control he wants so it’s fine for me.

 

[THD96]

And I feel like with those three, there’s a room for experimentation and the desire to push fashion forward (with the limits of the Chanel aesthetic)

You think that the original aesthetic of Gabrielle is limited? I think that her works in evening ensemble are quite beautiful and sometimes underrated because when people think of Chanel, they only think about the jacket.

Also I think CWK can also be a good candidate. She's like Karl (success at Chloé). And her Couture skills are much better than what Virginie is doing now.

 

[upNorth]

I want Virginie to take some psychedelics and find her divine feminine.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Nicolas, Phoebe and Haider…Mostly because of the same reason Karl was courted for the job: their aesthetic is nowhere near Chanel.
And I feel like with those three, there’s a room for experimentation and the desire to push fashion forward (with the limits of the Chanel aesthetic).

I’ve never been fan of the idea of Hedi: too obvious, too limited, too limiting. And plus he will never get the type of full control he wants so it’s fine for me.

I think the only limits of the Chanel aesthetic are the ones Karl put there. There are so many aspects of her oeuvre, particularly her pre-war years that Karl rarely touched on.

The Wertheimers gave Karl carte blanche, not sure why they wouldn't do the same for Hedi.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

You think that the original aesthetic of Gabrielle is limited? I think that her works in evening ensemble are quite beautiful and sometimes underrated because when people think of Chanel, they only think about the jacket.

Also I think CWK can also be a good candidate. She's like Karl (success at Chloé). And her Couture skills are much better than what Virginie is doing now.

It's funny how capable and worthy a designer I've found CWK to be only after Matthew William's devastating disappointment at Givenchy. I mean, I always knew she was solid but now I legit miss her clothes.

 

[Lola701]

You think that the original aesthetic of Gabrielle is limited? I think that her works in evening ensemble are quite beautiful and sometimes underrated because when people think of Chanel, they only think about the jacket.

Also I think CWK can also be a good candidate. She's like Karl (success at Chloé). And her Couture skills are much better than what Virginie is doing now.

There are limits in the Chanel aesthetic, that’s what makes it exciting when you are skilled, well trained and have a decent to extensive knowledge on the history of fashion/costumes.

We associate Chanel with a number of codes, thanks to Karl in a way, but those are codes she installed in her entire career. Chanel from the 30’s doesn’t look like Chanel from the 50’s and we can go all along to what she did in the last few years of her career. And in a way, the exercise is to play and work with that.

Chanel used fur and leopard prints in her collections, Karl barely did. Karl liked to play with things she hated: when he did the 60’s it was very Chanel but it was also the look she fought against. I mean, he even did Dior-alike collections.

Limits are great in a fashion house. Look at Givenchy, there’s nothing more elusive than Givenchy. Yes it was chic and comfortable but in the end, it’s hard to define codes and to work on that. At Dior, Balenciaga, Vionnet, Grès even designers like Jean Desses, you have a base to build on…

 

[Lola701]

I think the only limits of the Chanel aesthetic are the ones Karl put there. There are so many aspects of her oeuvre, particularly her pre-war years that Karl rarely touched on.

The Wertheimers gave Karl carte blanche, not sure why they wouldn't do the same for Hedi.

He did the pre-war thing a lot in the 80’s. I think in the 90’s only maybe spring and fall 1998 and in the 00´s the Prefall at NYC.

But when I say limits, it’s not in a bad way. It’s because there were so many limits that he did very outrageous things. He went, played around, build some unexpected connections.

I wouldn’t give Hedi carte blanche either. Karl was maybe a strong personality but his work served the brand. Hedi has that type of overwhelming take over that can be difficult for brands on a long term.

 

[WAVES]

girl what was this?

I mean there’s an improvement but it falls absolutely flat. some silhouettes attempt to be sleeker and more elegant but there’s almost an ugly detail.

this is not very good at all. those first opening looks had me disbelieving my eyesight.

just hire Thomas Browne once and for all.

 

[vogue28]

I'm going to go against the grain and say I have a soft spot for this, as I have done with just about every Chanel collection by Virginie Viard. This may not the most eloquent in terms of concept (wasn't a fan of the setting) and doesn't feel coherent as a whole but there's just so many beautiful and exquisitely executed elements.

The opening look is immaculate, love every single jacket showcased here and quite fond of the footwear (even the cowboy boots). The embellishments are all sublime, and I can already picture Anna Wintour in that pink floral number worn by Vivienne Rohner!

 

[tricotineacetat]

My last pick would be Hedi Slimane. All those tweed jackets he does for Celine almost look like he's auditioning for Chanel. I'm sure Lagerfeld would approve. While I don't loooooove his Celine, his Chanel would be an immense commercial success, one that I bet he could easily sustain over decades. I can't imagine a conversation between him and the Wertheimers didn't happen so something didn't work out. Maybe he's contractually tied up with Celine and wasn't available. Or maybe he's simply not interested (unlikely).

This would have made a lot of sense as a smooth transition for Chanel post Karl as a means to rejuvenate the brand whilst keeping customers who rely on Chanel's daywear happy - Considering that his shoes, bags and small accessories were a success at SLP, aside from his proven talent with tailored separates.

To be honest, I am considering his Celine gig as a mere transitioning period for something else. I wouldn't be surprised if he was still considered a potential shadow candidate, should Virginie Viard's helm at Chanel not be a long-lived one.

 

[bszp]

not good enough,

 

[Olaffo]

The collection is like any other one: boring, ill-fitted, pretentious. What's interesting tho is the context: Chanel is booming, reports are great, they are planning to open boutiques for top spenders in Asia, shamelessly rising prices and people still buying it. The brand does well because VV is dull and uninspiring - atelier is making high quality expensive clothes for people who are happy to spend loads of money on them. Sad truth is that she won't go anywhere any time soon so betting on who can take over is depressing. Oh I miss Karl so much !

 

[Caffeine]

I think the only limits of the Chanel aesthetic are the ones Karl put there. There are so many aspects of her oeuvre, particularly her pre-war years that Karl rarely touched on.

The Wertheimers gave Karl carte blanche, not sure why they wouldn't do the same for Hedi.

When I went to a styling event recently, the discussion was how Coco was trying to create a comfortable and confident modern women image.

Karl's collections always had strong themes - you can even say that some collections were filled with cultural appropriation - but they each had a coherent theme.

VV's collections are too commercial. Each garment is made for a commercial gain. When customers complained about too many logos in buttons, she changed and made them more interesting. Her pants fit better than Karl's. (My sales agreed too - from a sales/alterations perspective.) So these will do for a while. But they must have a strong visionary in charge in order to bring the brand to the next level.

Celine...no the jackets were nowhere close. They look more like the Zara version. (I am sorry but they did look cheap.) However, the current Celine RTW is certainly Parisian. I can see it work. I just don't know if anyone can take the work load and deal with all Ateliers, couture, etc. It's a lot.

 

[keviners]

Omg, I absolutely love every detail!

 

[Bertrando3]

The whole collection feels so old gosh. I see no magic, it's very lazy. NEXT!

 

[Caffeine]

After seeing their fall Act I collection I actually think the Couture collection is not THAT bad (rolling eyes).
https://www.chanel.com/us/fashion/ready-to-wear/l/1x1x9/the-looks/