Thursday, December 16, 2010

Chanel Pre-Fall 2011: Byzantium on the Rue Cambon





Karl Lagerfeld has suggested a new age while casually mining the distant past. Who else could take Chanel’s Maltese cross inlaid cuffs and riff on Byzantium’s Empress Theodora and come up with a collection rife with possibilities. A time so ancient would bring to mind clothing and accessories that shriek “Museum show” or “costume”, certainly not “Modern” or “New”. But that’s precisely what this collection heralds. It’s thrilling to see how aesthetics, taste and the zeitgeist can be nudged ever so deftly by his brilliant imagination. Time and again, Lagerfeld and the good ship Coco conquer unknown lands, mapping and measuring a world we never knew existed. From the first exit the lines have been subtly altered with a closer, cleaner shoulder, an even higher armhole and a long languid length that purrs ease and languor. He seems to find evermore, fascinating ways to express a heightened glamour by way of an unstudied elegance.


The fabrics on the surface appear familiar, as do the details until you take a closer look. Tweeds are shot through with what appears to be molten gold and in other instances oxidized silver threads. This rich, golden cast informs almost every shade. The staples of a Chanel collection such as jackets, suits, dresses, knitted dresses and separates and the ubiquitous evening dresses and gowns are adorned with brooches, amulets, ropes of chain and obscenely beautiful cabochon stones of every imaginable type. It's a feast cooked up for an Empress but accessible to us, mere mortals. This woman is truly at ease with splendor, which is a far cry from most couture-coddled groupies. Lagerfeld has given women permission to let it rip and has shown them how to do it with taste, restraint and humility. Who knew that the ne plus ultra could be so sensible?


What a wonderful world this can be…What a glorious time to be Free!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

"....with taste, restraint, and humility..."

The secret of elegance.

Anon2

Anonymous said...

Any comments on the changes coming at French Vogue ?

Fluff Chance said...

dear anonymous,
give me a moment, I'll get right back to you.....

Unknown said...

You write reviews so much better than anybody else in the business of fasion critique. Wonderfully said!

Fluff Chance said...

Dear Haute Hat Lady,
Thanks very much. Have a happy Ho, Ho, Ho!!!
love, Fluff

the colored man said...

The blogs seem to have a new flavor to them. Calm, restraining, but still with Fluff's acidic wit and clear insight.

Anonymous said...

there are now "pre-fall" collections?

it's all really an indication of the economic disparity's trajectory. One day however many couture wearing women are left will be viewing collections and shopping every week while there will be no ready-to-wear lines, for which the market will have evaporated!