Wednesday, May 4, 2016

CHANEL resort 2017 ..mira mira aquí mami!!



As a kid growing up there were Sunday night telecasts of the Steve Allen show from the Tropicana in Havana and then of course there was Ricky Ricardo to take us to the rhythmic soul of Latin America... Cuba. There was Abbe Lane in form fitting cha cha dresses singing and gyrating while fronting Cugie’s orchestra, lots of bongo drum beats, guayaberas and of course those rumba sleeved shirts that fluttered when Ricky beat those conga drums into a frenzy.

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This was Kruise Karl at his best, Chanel at its most relaxed yet chic and at times kitschy but most of all this is Chanel in one of its most commercial and accessible incarnations. The clothes are relaxed in the truest sense of what Resort collections were in years gone by. These are clothes that beckon a client and ring registers so to speak. Not only are the clothes quite Latin inspired but there is something about the collection that might be considered Chanel Light or even Chanel  sportswear!

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Accessories by the boatload whether hats or jewelry, shoes, metallic belts, bags or shades are in abundance… ring them up!! The Cuba tee shirts will sell out before they hit the stores and the 50s car print pieces can only be described as fun, kitschy and easy to wear. Do not think for one second that there were no WTF Karl klunkers as there were many but the overall tone of the collection displayed clothes with no need of understanding or trying to dissect; it was in your face, take it or leave it and draw your own observations. One couldn’t ignore the “sack dress” of the 50s silhouette which showed up toward the end, the plethora of  50s silhouettes not to mention the “mini-Karls” who appeared intermittently throughout the show, let alone the cigar chomping that was happening on the runway. Karl has a sense of humor and Karl knows how to sight gag better than any other designer let alone how to raise a middle finger to the pundits of fashion.

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click image to enlarge

Take note of the cumberbunded waists /the high waisted full legged pants that were germane to Latin dancers of the era as well the sort of the heyday St Tropez meeting the heyday of Havana. It is a rare moment when Chanel offers such a non-restrictive season without any pretense and possessing this sort of Sprezzatura that very few can achieve on a scale like this. Another aspect that should be noted is that there was no usual heavy concentration of dressy or evening clothes. Of course then there is this crazy notion that Chanel/Karl  was retail focused  here with an eye towards selling  and a something for everyone kind of attitude which will no doubt translate to sales akin to Black Friday at Walmart … Well… sort of ….

 
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And so once again it is Kudos to Karl and once again he shows the wannabe fabulous designers that HE and HIS brand have no need to reinvent the wheel but just to render clothes that people can wear and want to buy!! Food for thought after having seen some of the “lauded and unsalable” debacles of the past season and of the future ones soon to be seen!

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