Karl Lagerfeld & Chanel S/S 09 Paris

[Enigma89]

I am pretty surprised there is not already a thread on either of these collections. I think both are great collections, especially Lagerfeld's but the Chanel one also holds up to be pretty strong.

Karl Lagerfeld once oh-so-memorably said that his signature line reflected how he would dress if he were a woman. Which (aside from the obviously borrowed-from-his-own-wardrobe touches like the crisp, white high-collared shirt or the clerical color scheme) surely makes for the intriguing psychology that underpins this label.

For Spring, the designer talked about "blurring"—that is, rendering things not quite as they seemed. There were large, asymmetrical, girdling peplumlike patent-leather belts that shifted the silhouette, and veils of black chiffon trailing over indistinct floral prints. Erik Halley contributed metal body jewelry: Originally intended to mimic tattoos, it ended up looking more like a baroque lace, in contrast with the modernism of the clothes.

Modernism? Make that futurism, which was signaled by the first model, who beamed down in a Close Encounters shaft of light. Lagerfeld's sci-fi was actually more the retro-Blade Runner variety, as in an asymmetrically draped suit with forties tailoring or a pencil skirt that emerged from a peplum's pleated tiers.

This last item, shown in a sheer ice pink, clued us in to a more shadowy personality trait of this collection: a fetishistic maîtresse edge. If Chanel is Paris and Fendi is Milan, the Karl Lagerfeld line may be the place where he is most in touch with his inner Teuton—with all the severity that implies.

The Collection:

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/fullscreen/S2009RTW-KLAGERFELD/

I really love the fourth, fifth and sixth piece.

Since it's not exactly feasible to invite people to view a Chanel collection in-house, as it used to be done, Karl Lagerfeld instead decided to bring the Rue Cambon to the thousand or so people who crowded into the Grand Palais. A life-size façade of the storied Chanel building at number 31—complete with a street runway—had been dropped into the space. The doors opened, "Our House" by Madness struck up on the sound system, and a line of Chanel-clad pedestrians streamed out.

It was a charming, expensive shot of celebratory fun rolled out with supreme confidence. Lagerfeld said the theme was inspired by a grayish portrait by Marie Laurencin, who painted Coco Chanel in the twenties, but really, it was yet another of his long, allusive, sometimes mischievous excursions around the house set pieces. The fact that there's an untainted core to this label—the tweeds, bows, camellias, and ineffably pretty cocktailwear—means Lagerfeld can take full license to nod to all sides of the road. So, within a relatively tight palette of black, white, and gray, he made free with current references to graphic checks (done in a painterly way on sleeveless suits), metallics and sheerness (in tissue-fine silvery-pink lamé and crunchy, sparkly paillette embroideries), and lingerie notes (a bit of boudoir styling in marabou-heeled shoes and frilled-negligee sleeves).

This, however, is far from an adequate précis of the multifaceted Chanel action on the runway. It encompassed jumpsuits and Empire gowns, flamenco-cum-western ruffled skirts, black ciré swimwear, and, in the middle of it all, a kitsch skit on the Chanel carrier bag: little shopping bags in pink leather. In the end, though, it was the delicious eveningwear that carried the show to a lovely conclusion: long, narrow skirtsuits with cropped boleros, a pink vertically pleated dress, and, yes, even a gray-tinted cloudy georgette flowing dress that could have sat for Marie Laurencin.

The collection:

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/fullscreen/S2009RTW-CHANEL/

I really loved the 3rd, 16th,24th 41st and 42nd pieces.

A lot of grey/black/white but, it is Lagerfeld so it should be no surprise, and it is not a surprise to me that I like it.

[Enigma89]

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