Rare is the season when I don't find myself prostrated at the spectator shod feet of the house of Chanel, moaning, "I'm not worthy...I'm not worthy". I admit I can be starstruck and have been by the machinations of Graf Karl von und zu Lagerfeld for many many years. He is undeniably one of the most prolific and creative design minds in this universe and the parallel one inhabited by a jaundiced few (too many). Like everything in life, the good stuff comes and goes. His Byzantium collection inspired by the Empress Theodora was pretty special. So was the last couture collection that took us to Atlantis. Even the gigantic garden party that conjured images of Last Year at Marienbad left me stupefied, flattened and crawling on the floor.
Resort didn't have the same effect. I want to pop this in before pouncing on his Fall 2012 couture collection simply because this looked like such an obvious aberration. I keep going back to his diatribes regarding modernism, the future, "yes", the past be damned. Sentimentality is an emotion and word that has no place or meaning in his world. Still, we get subtle glimpses of that chink in his armor with clothes that made up the resort collection. Granted they were to a degree site specific. Versailles is not the setting for booty shorts and tube tops. Neither is it the best spot for get ups that looked like the work of an army of Chanel interns...perhaps it was Choupette's maiden voyage. This Chanel girl is a high top wearing, multi-colored bobbed wig tossing, quilted leather-clad water can swinging, saddle bag adorned bathing suit posing, shear, lattice and floral embroidery covered house dress donning, ruffled pantelette baring, been there done that tweed suit parading, bicep curling, sleeveless denim d'Hameau gold braid trimmed pedal pusher strutting, hyperbole spouting kid. The moments are too few leaving us with a pastiche of what Chanel can mean. It has meant many things but very rarely does it mean banality.
So you win some, you lose some. Ines de la Fressange put it diplomatically when congratulating Lagerfeld at the end..." Oh Karl, you have so many ideas"(air kiss, air kiss, air kiss). Could that be a nice way of saying "Meh"?
Rare is the season when I don't find myself prostrated at the spectator shod feet of the house of Chanel, moaning, "I'm not worthy...I'm not worthy". I admit I can be starstruck and have been by the machinations of Graf Karl von und zu Lagerfeld for many many years. He is undeniably one of the most prolific and creative design minds in this universe and the parallel one inhabited by a jaundiced few (too many). Like everything in life, the good stuff comes and goes. His Byzantium collection inspired by the Empress Theodora was pretty special. So was the last couture collection that took us to Atlantis. Even the gigantic garden party that conjured images of Last Year at Marienbad left me stupefied, flattened and crawling on the floor.
Resort didn't have the same effect. I want to pop this in before pouncing on his Fall 2012 couture collection simply because this looked like such an obvious aberration. I keep going back to his diatribes regarding modernism, the future, "yes", the past be damned. Sentimentality is an emotion and word that has no place or meaning in his world. Still, we get subtle glimpses of that chink in his armor with clothes that made up the resort collection. Granted they were to a degree site specific. Versailles is not the setting for booty shorts and tube tops. Neither is it the best spot for get ups that looked like the work of an army of Chanel interns...perhaps it was Choupette's maiden voyage. This Chanel girl is a high top wearing, multi-colored bobbed wig tossing, quilted leather-clad water can swinging, saddle bag adorned bathing suit posing, shear, lattice and floral embroidery covered house dress donning, ruffled pantelette baring, been there done that tweed suit parading, bicep curling, sleeveless denim d'Hameau gold braid trimmed pedal pusher strutting, hyperbole spouting kid. The moments are too few leaving us with a pastiche of what Chanel can mean. It has meant many things but very rarely does it mean banality.
So you win some, you lose some. Ines de la Fressange put it diplomatically when congratulating Lagerfeld at the end..." Oh Karl, you have so many ideas"(air kiss, air kiss, air kiss). Could that be a nice way of saying "Meh"?
14 comments:
Cathy Horin is still trying to explain fashion to us all in her next article.BLABLABLABLABLA...
Spirou.
Simply appalling. But the watering can made me smile, even though that too is hideous.
That watering can is the ugliest ever. Apparently the attractive ones refused to be seen with those clothes...
Glad you're back. We've missed you.
Anon2
tres anime chic! it'll sell well with the harajuku crowd... outside of Tokyo, though...
The big news as per Diane Pernet at (a shaded view on fashion ) is :
Galiano will be heading the house of Shiaparelli.
He had a very public lunch at the Ritz with Anna Wintour .....
Well well well well well well......Lets get it confirmed, sometime miss Pernet dreams on, but the pictures are real !
Spirou
darn, Spirou beat me to the punch... if this pans out, things will get a bit more interesting...
BTW, who owns Elsas's?
Chris in sf, If they hire him, this will set everyone's pants on fire !
It's a gigantic f..k you to LVMH !!!!!!!! It sounds like too much fun, maybe it won't happen... it would be too good !!!! Galiano at Shiaparelli, Slimane at YSL, FUN !
One can dream !
Spirou
Chris in sf, it's Tod group, De la Valle, my favorite driving shoes ....Of course now that Fluff turned me on to Charles Philip Shangai, they may lose my business...
Spirou
Chris in SF,
Diego Della Valle owns Schiap.
You guys are too well informed. I feel hopelessly at sea or just struggling in the shallow end of the pool.... Well, if this nugget is gold we're in for a new twist to the conversation. Thanks for dragging me along with you to the front row!
Love,
Fluff
Hello everyone,
Since we've all gone tangential on this post, I'd like to ask everyone's thoughts on something:
Regarding the whole Raf/Dior and Galliano/Schiap conversations:
I'm curious of about everyone's thoughts on what a house's DNA means. It seems from other posts that people in this forum think Raf Simons doesn't really " get" Dior ( yet) and that everyone is excited of the Galliano/Schiap prospect ( and I'm assuming it's because it seems like a good match stylistically.)
So, how to explain a brand like Pucci? I've lost count of how many designers tried ( and presumably failed) interpreting the house codes before Peter Dundas did his Julien MacDonald bling for the brand.
I've really more questions than answers on this so if anyone wants to chime in.....
The word House DNA amuses me. For me CD is about madness and simplicity, about audacity for the sake of it,one must have " du chien " meaning incredible chic. One must know the classics. You must have the right points of reference, know your vocabulary,know history, to be able to translate into the "now". Dior was it ! Like Chanel, so to reduce it to a little black pant suit and coat dresses from Macys, does not cut for me !It's a complete watered down job ! Galiano understood the drama of CD/YSL etc...He gave dreams to women ! He sent a message of madness, be wild....Like CD in the 50's. Dress up show yourself...
Even if you do vintage/homage to the house you must put a twist in it, as Karl did with Chanel a million years ago...It helps if you show your clothing on the proper WOMEN with incredible "chien", not sad little girls...
Trina Turk does a good Pucci , a good " Girl from Ipanema "....Great for Palm Springs.
Spirou,
That was elegantly and succinctly put. DNA is a cellular base unique to living creatures and beings. Design houses have SALES And SELL. They can not be traced to crimes by way of forensic science . Forensic accounting perhaps ...
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