Tuesday, September 30, 2014

CHANEL by Karl Lagerfeld Spring 2015



My opinion is this: Karl has now reached a point that others aspire to and that is no matter what he shows, no matter what the back story, no matter what, these clothes will sell and he is the grand meister of marketing and sales! While the Rafs, Nickys, Hedis, Wangs and Rickys are trying to sell you with their arcane inspirations Karl just puts it out there and it sells. He has reached the point of thumbing his nose at them all and doing what none of them will ever achieve. The clothes, the brand have a life of their own at this point.  As for his Coco references and extrapolations of her he has climbed inside Coco and he has “aged” with her to the point of WWCD or “WHAT WOULD COCO DO?” if she was still alive...  think about it!


If it is possible to opine about this collection then here are some immediate reactions; the cap toe print boots and new handbags will have  waiting lists starting today, the choice of prints and their mix with tweeds is very jarring, there are loads of jackets and coats, some extraordinary blouses, there seems to be an overall look that somehow causes the wearer to look a bit square, the details are beyond incredible (embroideries and special effects), the ankle strap  gold flats will ripple all the way down to H&M and Forever 21 within  weeks, the CHANEL biker belt is already being  copied without question and if one had to generalize, one would just have to say that if you ever wanted a piece of Chanel, you would certainly find something within this monstrously large collection. Every length, every proportion, every silhouette is covered.



What prompted the tone of this review is one that came to my attention about Saint Laurent which stated that given its Hedi history the clothes will sell despite what any critic thinks. Herein lies the fly in the ointment and that is Chanel has enjoyed that luxury for decades while Hedi’s shelf life will run out. His expiration is caused by his Johnny one note approach to fashion while Karl has proven himself to be a virtuoso who attracts more and more clients on a daily basis. Karl is not stuck for ideas nor imagination and inspirations.

PS.. he has created Chanel as an event... a happening... a moment... A major event and it is all orchestrated by Karl... he leads the symphony that is CHANEL

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