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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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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