Uncle Karl does not stop! Soon after the presentation of his icy Chanel Fall 2010 Ready to Wear collection, he sat down to chat with WWD. What follows below is the interview republished from WWD:

What is your take on the fashion system today?
We are in the middle of change, like the movies changed. There will be a change from two-dimensions to three-dimensions, just as films went from silent to talking. This is a very interesting period. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. These are our times, and if you start to fight against them, you are lost. You are a loser or a has-been.

How do you deal with the speed of fashion today, the endless seasons, etc.?
We live in a speedy world. We are here to make the products light and modern. If speed is too much for you, don’t complain. That’s our world. We are not in the old days with two couture collections a year. At Chanel, we have six ready-to-wear collections, in fact: fall, pre-fall, métiers d’art, spring, pre-spring and cruise, and so the merchandise in the stores changes every two months. We reduce the time as much as we can. Creativity is not an issue. If you are not capable of doing it, you do another job. Doing fashion today is like being a racecar driver. That’s how I see it. So if the world of today doesn’t fit with your creativity, do your thing in an intimate, small way, but don’t play the victim. We have to fit in to our times.

That said, you’re not a fan of online retail.
I don’t believe in selling luxury online because shopping is pleasant. E-commerce deprives people of the pleasure of shopping in beautiful shops. And you know, fashion is not only what the clothes are made of — it’s the feeling of luxury where you shop, how you shop, the way parcels are beautifully wrapped. (Online) there are too many fakes, too many copies. Originals still have to be seen and touched. Because expensive clothes are not only about the look. It’s also about the touch.

You don’t use Twitter or other social media.
But I have nothing against it. I buy computers because they are beautiful objects. Personally, I don’t use them that much, but I don’t use cell phones and Blackberries and all that. It’s not because I want to be cut off from the world, but because I have different priorities. I like to do everything myself. I know pretty well about dressmaking — a technique that is difficult to get, as you know. My eyes are open, but they are not limited to a screen. For me, the world is a huge screen. That’s how I see it.

If the show calendar were to be reworked, what would be the perfect timing?
They should do men and women together [in January and June]. The men, why they are so early? Men’s clothes are much easier to produce than women’s clothes. So why don’t they do it all together? That would be wonderful. I think men and women should be in the same time together, 10 days or a week. Some people should make beautiful showroom presentations instead of doing poor-looking big shows. I’m very much against runway collections that nobody buys and who don’t exist. Everything you see on the Chanel runway, you get in the showroom.

At Chanel, no expense is ever spared and the Chanel Autumn/Winter 2010 Ready to Wear show was no exception. For starters, a 265-ton iceberg was imported from Sweden to the Grand Palais for the Chanel show.   Sitting in a shallow pool of water and reaching 28 feet high, 35 ice sculptors took six days to carve the iceberg to form the perfect peaks and valleys.  Needless to say, the room was kept chilly to keep the ice from melting and the tone was set for the show.

The show opened with what I would call polar bear costumes – full fur bodysuits.  For PETA’s sake, all of the fur in the show was faux – and there was a lot of it!  I have to say that I did not like these polar bear outfits at all.  I think they look ridiculous and unless you are dressing up as a polar bear for Halloween, or are living on the Arctic Circle, I have no idea why or where you would wear these furry jumpsuits.

Thankfully, the collection did not just include fuzzy costumes.  The highlight of the show – apparel wise – was the interpretation of tweed and knits to go along with the faux fur theme/cold weather theme.  The tweeds had fur, lace, yarn and tulle – and some even had stone embellishments.  The knits ranged from sweaters, dresses, and tights and looked cozy chic.

My favorite part of the collection was the accessories (no surprise there).  Necklaces, cuffs, earrings and hair pieces dripped with metals, stones, yarn and faux ice.  I especially loved the bracelet with metal and yarn fringe (pictured above).  The boots looked like they had spats attached to them which I also loved.  The fur boots – like the jumpsuits – I did not love, but I appreciated the cleverness of the “ice” heels.  The highlight of the accessories were of course the handbags.  From fur covered, to faux ice appliqued onto a bag with melting double CC’s the bags were exquisite.  My favorite was a play on the famous Chanel quilted pattern that actually looked like ice cubes.

The hair was big, teased and a bit messy, perhaps evoking the static of hat head in the winter?  I loved the eye makeup that was black and applied in a bit of a sporadic light, almost feather pattern.  The rest of the face was kept pretty bare and nude, as well as the nails.  As always, curious to see what the actual nail color will be – I’m sure it will cause a stir just like prior colors de jour.

View the rest of the collection below.

Runway Images: Style
Image Layout: Feesh

Chanel’s Coco Cocoon collection launched last year with Lily Allen as the face of the campaign.  For the next campaign for the collection, Lagerfeld has chosen to replace Allen with Vanessa Paradis, the French actress that is currently the spokesperson for Chanel’s Rouge Coco lipstick.  Like the other Chanel campaigns, the campaign was shot by Karl Lagerfeld. The images are scheduled to debut in the June issues of magazines.  Paradis also has a long history of working with Chanel and began her partnership with the brand in 1994 when she was featured in an ad campaign for the Coco fragrance.

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy notified Karl Lagerfeld that he will “be decorated as a commander of the French Legion of Honor.”  The date for the ceremony has not yet been set.  Lagerfeld joins other fashion designers honored by the French Legion of Honor including John Galliano, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent.

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Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2010 brochure, Latin Lover is available now at Chanel boutiques.  Shot by Karl Lagerfeld, Latin Lover is also available online for the first time at chanel-latinlover.com.  The site is a virtual look book with all of the images floating on the screen.  To see something up close, you click on the image.  Once you’ve zoomed into an image, you can click on each of the items featured in the look book for close-ups.

The web look book is a nice addition to the Chanel suite of sites and it seems like it’s part of Chanel’s larger move of having a greater presence online.  I’m looking forward to see what else they have up their sleeve!

Fashion at the Oscars: Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Kruger in Chanel Haute Couture

Chanel Haute Couture made its way onto the red carpet in LA tonight at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.  Both Diane Kruger and Sarah Jessica Parker wore Chanel Haute Couture and both looked lovely.  SJP’s gown was one of my favorites of the night – the neckline and back of the dress are stunning.  I’m always surprised at how few women wear Chanel on the red carpet, I’m glad that 2 women took the leap this year.

Chanel is having an “avant premiere” or early premier of their newest scent, Chance Eau Tendre.  The second variation of Chance, Eau Tendre was created by Chanel Master Perfumer Jacques Polge and is a “constellation that is a whirlwind of tender and vibrant notes. . . This incarnation of the decidedly young scent revealing itself to be both delicate and airy, with an intoxicatingly light, fruity trail.”

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre is available on the newly revamped Chanel website.

Les Trompe-L'oeil de Chanel: Kate Lee Shares Her Tattoo Application Expertise

On March 5, in Los Angeles, celebrity makeup artist Kate Lee is sharing her expertise in temporary tattoo application to celebrate the launch of Chanel’s Les Trompe-L’oeil (aka Chanel temporary tattoos!).  Ms. Lee will be at the Chanel on Robertson Blvd from 4pm to 7 pm.

Chanel Paris-Shanghai Accessories

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Chanel has Shanghai on the brain for 2010.  First there was the Chanel Shanghai boutique opening, then there was the Chanel Métiers D’Art Pre-Fall 2010 Paris-Shanghai collection.  We know Coco Chanel was infatuated with Shanghai and would have loved to have traveled there.  But I wonder if that was the only inspiration for the Chanel Shanghai collection – could it be that it was timed to coincide with the upcoming World’s Fair Expo in Shanghai in May, 2010.  Whatever the reason, the accessories are amazing!

After the success of the Chanel Paris-Moscou Matryoshka doll purse, Uncle Karl has created a similar purse for the Shanghai collection. The matching drop earrings are adorable – I wonder if he used these little ladies on any other accessories? Lagerfeld also reinterpreted the classic 2.55 bag with large sequined palletes in red and jade.

Chanel Paris-Shanghai Accessories

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My other favorite bag is Chanel’s rendition of the classic takeout box – with leather chain strap and all!  The Chanel cuff is also especially beautiful and is reminiscent of Chinese pottery and vases.

This is just a little glimpse into the details of the collection and I can’t wait to see more!

Martin Scorses Directs Chanel Men's Fragrance Ad Starting Gaspard Ulliel

A month ago I reported that Martin Scorsese was spotted at Moto in Brooklyn shooting a new Chanel ad campaign. Word has just surfaced that the ad he was filming was for Chanel’s new men’s fragrance. The ad features French actor Gaspard Ulliel.

Andrea D’Avack, president of Chanel Fragrance and Beauté, stated that “The ads have been shot in New York, the city which is so inherently part of Martin Scorsese’s cinematographic vocabulary.” (WWD)

Chanel has a long history of working with acclaimed film directors from Baz Luhrmann (with muse Nicole Kidman) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (with mus Audrey Tautou ), both for Chanel No.5 at different times.

Chanel works with movie directors because they bring depth, emotion and what we call in French ‘a supplement of soul,’ or an added dimension,” said D’Avack, pointing to films such as “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” and “Goodfellas” as examples of Scorsese’s vision. “In the case of Martin Scorsese, we knew we would definitely have a man’s world full of complexity that is also adrenaline-driven, and of course, amazing images. (WWD)

This is the first men’s ad of its kind that I will see and I’m looking forward to it!  I love Martin Scorsese and I think he’s a wonderful choice to film a men’s fragrance ad.  He’ll be able to capture the essence of “man” without coming off as to macho – can’t wait to see!

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