Chanel S/S 1990 : Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christensen & Michelle Legare by Karl Lagerfeld

[aracic]

Coiffure Gerald Porcher

 

[Deleted member 1957]

When ads were still great

 

[Phuel]

Department-store catalogue-looking blandness.

I'm just liking it for Cameron.

 

[Lola701]

The close-up are really great and despite this being his 3rd year as a photographer, a style can be perceived.
There was always something very cheesy and random about Karl’s early campaigns (Claudia dancing, the girls standing there and smiling...etc).

They guys are gorgeous!
Really an iconic campaign.

Department-store catalogue-looking blandness.

I'm just liking it for Cameron.

The irony is that they are from the catalogue. They always selected shots for the magazine but each season they had a catalogue which was essentially an extend version of the campaign.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Chanel is immune to the blandest of campaigns that would sink another label— just like they’re immune to even a world recession. When all other brands cease to exist and the world has gone mad, Chanel will still remain standing in a dystopian world and worn by the ruling overlords.

(And Claudia… How I feel about her is how most feel about Kendall. Except Claudia had the great fortune to have been shot by colossal creatives whom weren’t timid/meek and pushed her beyond staring blankly into the void; Ellen always got the best out of her. It’s why she will be remembered and Kendall won’t since there’s not a single shot of Kendall that’s worthy of remembering.)

 

[Lola701]

(And Claudia… How I feel about her is how most feel about Kendall. Except Claudia had the great fortune to have been shot by colossal creatives whom weren’t timid/meek and pushed her beyond staring blankly into the void; Ellen always got the best out of her. It’s why she will be remembered and Kendall won’t since there’s not a single shot of Kendall that’s worthy of remembering.)

Claudia is a beautiful and photogenic woman and that’s what was really the thing in her career. She had that « Jeune ingenue » kind of attitude that works on her favor but yes, she wasn’t an impressive model. The magic with Chanel was that her look worked with the image Karl had in mind at that time...Her 1995 campaign is iconic. The same as her work with Avedon for Versace.

But ultimately, she was at her best in the 2008 campaign...Maybe because it was more sensual than sexy and the confidence of a grown woman is different from the one of a young woman.

 

[Phuel]

^^^Chanel sells itself and must be the only brand that deliberately doesn’t seem to put any effort into their fashion campaigns beyond these pedestrian catalogue-aesthetics: The current Meisel-shot bag ads comes to mind. There fragrance commercials on the other hand: Magical: From Carol to Vanessa. Vanessa was a far far far more legendary/charismatic/alluring presence for Chanel than Claudia could ever hope to be, frankly. Even Lily-Rose is a stronger and more solid image for the brand. There was really nothing there beyond the Bardot-gimmick for Claudia; although admittedly she did look great in Armani shots by Meisel for American Vogue once in the 90s. She always came off so unlikeable when she did speak— unlike the likes of Christy/Naomi/Yasmeen/Yasmin/Veronica, all of whom would radiate candidly and draw me to them even more beyond their HF imagery. Claudia was as hollow as a Kinder Surprise egg by comparison… (It’s why I’m not as bothered by Kendall as so many: There always seem to be a Claudia/Kendall for every generation…)

 

[Lola701]

^^^Chanel sells itself and must be the only brand that deliberately doesn’t seem to put any effort into their fashion campaigns beyond these pedestrian catalogue-aesthetics: The current Meisel-shot bag ads comes to mind. There fragrance commercials on the other hand: Magical: From Carol to Vanessa. Vanessa was a far far far more legendary/charismatic/alluring presence for Chanel than Claudia could ever hope to be, frankly. Even Lily-Rose is a stronger and more solid image for the brand. There was really nothing there beyond the Bardot-gimmick for Claudia; although admittedly she did look great in Armani shots by Meisel for American Vogue once in the 90s. She always came off so unlikeable when she did speak— unlike the likes of Christy/Naomi/Yasmeen/Yasmin/Veronica, all of whom would radiate candidly and draw me to them even more beyond their HF imagery. Claudia was as hollow as a Kinder Surprise egg by comparison… (It’s why I’m not as bothered by Kendall as so many: There always seem to be a Claudia/Kendall for every generation…)

I don’t know if you have seen or if you own the Chanel campaigns enormous book but it’s an actually very interesting book.
I mean, Karl is and has always claimed to be a commercial photographer. But he is exceptionally good I think in doing portraits.

I think Chanel, and more than anyone else, Jacques Helleu, was clever at playing around Karl’s weaknesses you help build the new image of the brand. His earlier campaigns have the charm of the time, they are cheesy sometimes and sometimes very basic. But it worked . In the mid 90’s, his work became more interesting. He started using B&W, Sepia, his interest in architecture and landscape showed more.

While JPG campaigns were very flamboyant, the work of Testino, Herb Ritts, Demarchelier, Issermann was very « Lagerfeld » in a way. Kate Moss’s Coco Mademoiselle campaigns could have been shot by Karl and the new Meisel campaign is not different from the Vanessa campaign of 2004.

But also, in the book, you can clearly see that Claudia, even in her beauty was a bit flat compared for example to an Amber V. But Claudia became quickly a phenomenon in France at the time. She was a top model but above all, she was the opposite type of beauty of the ones attached to Chanel. She was perceived differently from the others. She spoke different languages, had a interesting background and so she was even more fascinating.

But I wonder who was the Claudia of the 00’s. I don’t think of a model in the 00’s who had a big career while being just « pretty ».

 

[kasper!]

The shot with bag and shoes is my fav of the whole set, but my fav vintage Chanel ad was 1989 S/S with Ines, her brother andfather..

 

[bradlee]

stunning!

 

[Phuel]

I don’t know if you have seen or if you own the Chanel campaigns enormous book but it’s an actually very interesting book.
I mean, Karl is and has always claimed to be a commercial photographer. But he is exceptionally good I think in doing portraits.

I think Chanel, and more than anyone else, Jacques Helleu, was clever at playing around Karl’s weaknesses you help build the new image of the brand. His earlier campaigns have the charm of the time, they are cheesy sometimes and sometimes very basic. But it worked . In the mid 90’s, his work became more interesting. He started using B&W, Sepia, his interest in architecture and landscape showed more.

While JPG campaigns were very flamboyant, the work of Testino, Herb Ritts, Demarchelier, Issermann was very « Lagerfeld » in a way. Kate Moss’s Coco Mademoiselle campaigns could have been shot by Karl and the new Meisel campaign is not different from the Vanessa campaign of 2004.

But also, in the book, you can clearly see that Claudia, even in her beauty was a bit flat compared for example to an Amber V. But Claudia became quickly a phenomenon in France at the time. She was a top model but above all, she was the opposite type of beauty of the ones attached to Chanel. She was perceived differently from the others. She spoke different languages, had a interesting background and so she was even more fascinating.

But I wonder who was the Claudia of the 00’s. I don’t think of a model in the 00’s who had a big career while being just « pretty ».

I've been tempted to own some Chanel tomes simply for that lone logo on the cover alone-- but then a look at the content and it's a quick no LOL Karl is absolutely a very competent commercial photographer. But so is the local photographer at the glamour studio in the mall LOL (I wonder if that is also because he likely has a huge team supporting him to take care of all the technical aspects?)

Looking at the current Melodie-helmed campaign for Chanel. the single portraits are actually very classic Chanel— maybe even Karl-esque in its aesthetic… I adore Melodie’s style of storytelling and wish she were a more prominent presence in the pages of Vogues. I wish Emmanuelle would snatch her up and give her a contributing narrative to her Vogue. Melodie is such a strong storyteller when left to her own devices that she would bring a genuine sense of rawness and authencity that’s so trendy in fashion photography but rarely executed convincing by the new generation. I get that there must be a brand guideline to adhere to with Chanel for any photographer and Melodie’s contribution is no exception. But to imagine her brand of portraiture for Chanel— so soulful, textured, down-to-earth, and still captivating and alluring :swoons:

 

[Lola701]

I've been tempted to own some Chanel tomes simply for that lone logo on the cover alone-- but then a look at the content and it's a quick no LOL Karl is absolutely a very competent commercial photographer. But so is the local photographer at the glamour studio in the mall LOL (I wonder if that is also because he likely has a huge team supporting him to take care of all the technical aspects?)

The best thing about that was how real he was with himself. There was an interview
where he said that sometimes he is almost ashamed of the amount of equipment and assistants he needed to produce what he did compared to Avedon, Penn and Newton (his favorite of all time).

As for Melodie...Not my taste. I like her personal work but her Chanel campaign, not at all. I kinda wished they gave the whole creative direction to Jean Paul Goude.
I would love to see his take on the fashion side because I think it could be very different from what he does for the fragrances.