Chanel HC S/S 08 Paris

[ilaughead]

Wow. This was so not what I was expecting, and after thinking about the collection all through school today, I'm completely impressed. Normally, Karl's ideal silhouette is body-conscious, not in a Versace way, but in a way that the clothes absolutely command only a thin, young girl to wear them.

These clothes, with a heavy nod to McQueen's Spring 07 collection, really challenge the youthful, curve-less aesthetic we're so used to seeing from not only Chanel, but from fashion in general. This is a big change, especially since the house of Chanel is doing it. Coco herself was famed for liberating the silhouette of women's clothing in her own time, but now that the world has completely changed in these several decades, I really think Karl is brilliant for making a new look that doesn't just disguise natural curves, but it almost celebrates them.

The Chanel couture girl isn't so girlish any more, now she's a woman.

 

[Spike413]

Excerpt from Cathy Horyn's blog...

Chanel: Icon Power

By Cathy Horyn

On my way to the Armani couture show, I dropped by Chanel to see Karl Lagerfeld in his studio. The first person I saw was Amanda Harlech, sitting by the windows overlooking the Rue Cambon, and then I seemed to see everybody at once—Odile Gilbert, who always does the hair, Michel, who does the music, Elsa, who deals with VIPs who want to wear Chanel, Madame Jacqueline, who presides over the ateliers, and Sebastian, who drives Lagerfeld. Right away, Lagerfeld got down to business and said the collection had been inspired by shell patterns. He had never really thought about shells before, he said, and, as he opened a picture book of shells—“Coquillages” by Paul Starosta and Jacques Senders—he described it as an unknown world of color and texture.
All that he represented in a beautiful Chanel show today, at the Grand Palais. There was hardly a jacket, or a short skirt, or an embroidery that didn’t relate to a shell, whether in pale shades of pink and gray or the contours of the drapery. The line was close to the body, with mostly short or flaring hems. Some of the prettiest dresses were made of intricately pleated pieces of tulle and chiffon, and then embroidered with single marabou feathers and silvery beads. A gray-to-white tunic had a curving hem and appeared over sheer, lightly embroidered culottes de la francaise.

Of course—how could I forget to mention it?—the hub of the show was a 75-replica of a Chanel cardigan jacket, made from wood and painted to resemble concrete. The enormous braided jacket was certainly kitsch—a Big Boy on the Seine. But the style is also iconic, and Lagerfeld’s idea was to show that the jacket was only the best-known of Chanel’s creations. She designed a lot of styles, some of which, as he pointed out in the studio, looked as if they came from nature. The models got dressed inside the replica jacket, which revolved slowly during the show, and then returned to the dressing area through an opening made by a flap in the jacket.

nytimes.com

 

[ilaughead]

How could they have all possibly got dressed inside of that? It's big, but not that big. On a side note, do you think that's how the S/S 08 runway worked, too? I imagined there was a set of stairs and and under-stage dressing room for that show...

On another side note-3,500 posts. I'm officially a VIP.

 

[Dkammern]

^^there was an under-stage something on last runway! the karl interview has some images of it... at the end i think (chanel.com of course)

i've seen people saying there were two shows.....
but non!!!!!
avenue W. Churchill IS the adress of the Grand Palais in Paris.......
but in a way you're right....
there're 2 shows. the another is in the studio in chanel for the couturieres...
.

what makes you say there werent two shows? not that i have loads of information on whether it's true or not. but if you read the schedule posted by the chambre syndicale it clearly says Chanel: Grand Palais (av. w. churchill) 10:00am AND noon. no?
another thought about this (which i will probably make a thread on so that we dont get too off topic here if people is interested in discussing) i read not too long ago an article by coolhunter Esther Levy in which she mentioned that a future trend to come might be doing commercial couture shows. Something like couture meets broadway. You just buy tickets for it and you enjoy this artful shows! At first thought it seemed VERY unlikely, but given the not so great situation in which couture houses are (yes i know some of them make profit out of it) it wouldnt seem so strange. If a million girls would kill for wintour's assistant job, i bet a million tFSers would kill to attend a couture show! (i would... maybe not kill, but i would sure splurge a lot of money!)

more thoughts about the collection... the problem with the models not wearing heels is:
1, none of them besides mariacarla knows how to pose without them (that's why the walking pictures look best)
2, karl was holding hands with a mariée that next to the huge jacket, the huge aura around karl's presence, and the huge dress she was wearing; looked like she was a tiny tiny tiny 13y/o girl!

(from yahoo)
he could have at least chosen a model that was taller than him! (that dress was not at all ugly, it just looked unfitted, way too big!)

last thoughts about the collection karl seems to be using a lot this wide sleeve in his latest shows... a bit reminiscent of the late 80s/ early 90s, is it not?

http://www.***************/image/2007/W27/070320071739103880.jpg

AND LAST OF ALL: i would love to see a long evening version of this!

maybe on diane kruger



pics from style, catwalking and elle!

 

[mark_jakobs]

my favorite HC so far this week
but i probably would've put something else in the center

 

[valentina_rocks]

i love the collection!
it looks really good to me.

i love it<3333333333

 

[KKnardi]

Soft-shell Chanel by Suzy Menkes

PARIS: In an exquisite collection - as delicate as it was romantic - Karl Lagerfeld took Chanel to where even Coco herself had never plunged: the ocean bed.

Whorls of conches, fan-shaped scallops and a hint of a pink tint were worked into draped skirts, jacket sleeves and tulle dresses that all showed a different and rounded facet of linear Chanel.

"Coquille Chanel!" quipped Lagerfeld in a pun on the French word for shell.

A book on the underwater world had inspired him to translate, with the incomparable Chanel workrooms, the transparent lightness, swirling watery movement and plankton fronds into the finest haute couture effects. Even the girlish flat shoes and narrow headbands in high, upswept hair were decorated with shell shapes.

The models were disgorged from the heart of brand Chanel: a monolithic sculpture (the front-row guest Marianne Faithfull called it "phallic") of a tweed jacket, complete with carved buttons and braiding. The Lilliputian figures, emerging from the rotating set, seemed like a new Chanel breed. But Lagerfeld insisted that their mermaid sweetness was all part of the Coco heritage.

"People think Chanel only did the jackets, but at the beginning there were all kinds of shapes," the designer said, referring to photos of a 1930s Coco wearing draped satin pants or ruffles of frothy lace.

So the new jackets were rounded to the torso, the skirt draped seductively at the front or in waves of ultra-light material. A flash of sparkling buttons suggested sun glinting on water, while sleek, silvered party dresses evoked streams of moonlight. And this was a collection that - although the rounded tailoring was convincing - was focused on after dark.

Mostly short - with just a few longer dresses with shifting fronds of chiffon - this was a dream of midsummer. A shell pink dress, apparently created from silken ribbons, gleamed with mother of pearl plaques, while other creations were black but encrusted lightly with glimmering beading.

Clients were breathless with excitement.

"I want everything - it was made for me," the actress Diane Kruger said, while Sofia Coppola uttered one joyous word: "Flats!"

But this was far more than a crowd-pleasing Chanel. It showed both an ocean of couture techniques and a new romantic side of Lagerfeld.

"Romantic?" said the designer.

"It's about change - my new apartment, a new beginning - and moving toward a new luxury." //iht.com written today by Suzy Menkes.

 

[KKnardi]

There is also a video with karl and everything, please go to http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/22/style/rsuzy24.php

 

[yogini108]

i'm in love with the high collared jacket on kim noorda

 

[dior_couture1245]

I LOVE it SO much! I hated Chanel HC FW 07, but I really love this. The hair and make up is really gorgeous and flattering, too! There are some really, really beautiful designs and details.

HOWEVER....I HATE, HATE, HATE the flats. It is not flattering on anyone. This could have been my favorite Chanel couture show if the models wore heels (even kitten heals would have been enough to satisfy me!), but the flats just really put me off.

Did nobody have the guts to tell Karl that the flats were hideous?

Too, bad.

 

[ilaughead]

^^there was an under-stage something on last runway! the karl interview has some images of it... at the end i think (chanel.com of course)

Thanks! I found it!

more thoughts about the collection... the problem with the models not wearing heels is:
1, none of them besides mariacarla knows how to pose without them (that's why the walking pictures look best)

I saw that too! In some of the pictures, it looked like some of the models had never worn anything but heels before!

And I know a lot of people here didn't like the flats themselves, but look at the bigger picture! Flats in couture may trickle down into both RTW and mainstream fashion for a less restrictive, more comfortable world.

 

[dior_couture1245]

And I know a lot of people here didn't like the flats themselves, but look at the bigger picture! Flats in couture may trickle down into both RTW and mainstream fashion for a less restrictive, more comfortable world.

Well, regardless of the concept, they're still pretty ugly and unflattering. I mean, I'm not opposed to flats in couture...I'm just opposed to ugly flats in couture!

 

[ilaughead]

^Well, a few pairs were kind of unsightly.

 

[Boomer]

HOWEVER....I HATE, HATE, HATE the flats. It is not flattering on anyone. This could have been my favorite Chanel couture show if the models wore heels (even kitten heals would have been enough to satisfy me!), but the flats just really put me off.

Did nobody have the guts to tell Karl that the flats were hideous?

Too, bad.

I completely agree...This would have been a total home run with even some heels worked in...

 

[maxfield]

ignoring the shoes...this is incredible. infinitely better than last season!

 

[prettypouf]

I think he was going for more of a glass slipper, cinderella princess feel when he went for flats. Overall, the flats were not very flattering.
At least I used a corny joke in it.

But honestly, heels could have really helped this collection and made it more of a favorite. I'm waiting patiently for video.

 

[JordanB]

Love this! Beautiful. Love the flats and the shoulders in the dresses.

 

[maxfield]

Overall, the flats were not very flattering.

oh my god...that is so carrie bradshaw, i love it

i really hate leggings but that one pair (i guess they aren't exactly leggings) with the fringed top... somebody stop me!

 

[chanels]

This is much better than his previous season. I love the back to back outfits from Bruna and Sasha.

At first, from far away, I didn't think the collection was all that special until I see the detailing. Very gorgeous and even though there should have been some heels, I liked the flats, especially the pink pairs.

 

[CityofAngels]

Hmm this collection is puzzling. Many of the cuts and combinations with the fabrics are rather refreshing but the flats - not so much. They all looked like they were trying to pose like guys with such a masculine stance. Perhaps it was intentional to offset/contrast the femininity of the ruffles and pink and such but ultimately I think it detracted from the overall appeal.