Alice Dellal, the face of the upcoming Chanel Boy campaign, on her way to the Spring-Summer 2012 Haute Couture show living the glamorous life….
February 1, 2012
Alice Dellal – CHANEL Spring-Summer 2012 Haute Couture show
January 26, 2012
BLEU ILLUSION: Chanel 2012 Spring-Summer Haute Couture Show Makeup
Karl Lagerfeld and Peter Philips are a match made in heaven. Karl conjures up intoxicatingly beautiful themes and collections and Peter Philips is always able to translate Karl’s visions into an equally gorgeous beauty collection. For the Chanel spring-summer 2012 haute couture Peter Philips gives us BLEU ILLUSION.
Peter Philips, Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup used the following CHANEL products to create the runway beauty looks:
Skin prepared with HYDRA BEAUTY SERUM Hydration Protection Radiance (available April 2012)
The Complexion
PERFECTION LUMIERE Long Wear Flawless Fluid Makeup SPF 10
ECLAT LUMIERE Highlighting Face Pen
CORRECTEUR PERFECTION Long Lasting Concealer
POUDRE UNIVERSELLE LIBRE Natural Finish Loose Powder
The Eyes
EXCLUSIVE CREATION ILLUSION D’OMBRE Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Apparition and Destination (available July 2012)
EXCLUSIVE CREATION LE CRAYON YEUX Precision Eye Pencil in Bleu Aérien (available July 2012)
STYLO YEUX WATERPROOF Long Lasting Eyeliner in Marine
LE CRAYON KHOL Intense Eye Pencil in Marine
CRAYON SOURCILS Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil
INIMITABLE WATERPROOF Mascara in Black
RECOURBE CILS DE CHANEL Precision Eyelash Curler
The Cheeks
JOUES CONTRASTE Powder Blush in Rose Ecrin
The Lips
ROUGE COCO BAUME Hydrating Conditioning Lip Balm
LE CRAYON LEVRES Precision Lip Pencil in Natural
ROUGE COCO Hydrating Crème Lip Colour in Superstition
The Nails
EXCLUSIVE CREATION LE VERNIS Nail Colour in Sky Line (available July 2012)
* The Exclusive Collection BLEU ILLUSION will be available at specific points of sales in July 2012
Photos by Vincent Lappartient
January 25, 2012
Making of the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2012 Press Kit
Yesterday Chanel presented its Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2012 collection. Chanel News posted some images from the making of the press kit for the bedazzling collection. As is customary, Karl Lagerfeld took the photos but I apologize I don’t know the name of the model. My readers always help me out in this regard so feel free to chime in if you know who she is! I always love seeing Karl in action. Enjoy…
Photos © Olivier Saillant
December 4, 2011
Rest In Peace François Lesage
François Lesage, the heir to the Maison Lesage embroidery studio, passed away last week at the age of 82 after losing his battle to his illness. Maison Lesage was created by François’ father and he took the helm when his father passed away in 1949. Though Maison Lesage was the embroidery studio for all of Paris’ best designers, this is particularly sad for Chanel because Chanel bought Maison Lesage in 2002 as part of Paraffection in a plan to preserve “petite mains” – the heritage of artisans, their age-old crafts and their couture ateliers. Looking ahead and knowing the delicacy of the situation, François Lesage started an embroidery school in the atelier. Maison Lesage will continue embroidering. I send my deepest condolences to the Lesage family.
October 2, 2011
Dior Uses LED Lit Set…Too
Am I being too critical? Overly sensitive? Grumpy? I’ve been know to be a little of all of the above but every time Dior comes out with something new lately I feel like they aren’t even trying. Instead, I feel like Dior is like a little kid looking over Chanel’s shoulder during a pop quiz. Copying will get you nowhere! In the latest copy cat act, Dior showed their less than stellar Spring 2012 collection with a backdrop lit by LED lights. Dior, please hire a designer who will lead your house because right now you are following!
**UPDATE** To clarify, the top photo is from the Chanel Fall-Winter 2011-2102 Haute Couture presentation and the bottom picture is from the Dior Spring-Summer 2012 presentation.
August 8, 2011
Carnet Vendôme Illustrations by Karl Lagerfeld
Since the set of the Chanel Fall-Winter 2011 Haute Couture presentation was a recreation of Place Vendôme, it’s only fitting that Carnet Vendôme was handed out to all the guests at the show. Carnet Vendôme is a guide that has information on the more than 60 Vendôme members, many of which are luxury retailers, including of course Chanel Fine Jewelry. Carnet Vendôme is printed in three languages (French, English and Chinese) and for the current issue, Karl Lagerfeld drew all of the illustrations. You can find Carnet Vendôme at Galignani bookstore for 10€.
Librairie Galignani
224 Rue de Rivoli, 75001
Tel.: +33-1-42-60-76-07
Source: WWD
August 4, 2011
Maison Michel Fall 2011 Lookbook
Maison Michel is a millinery atelier that was purchased by Chanel in 2002 as a part of PARAFFECTION, a solution to keep haute couture ateliers alive. In doing so, Chanel is keeping a rich legacy of knowledge and tradition intact and preventing fashion techniques from becoming lost arts, as well as ensuring that haute couture remains robust.
Maison Michel makes all of the hats for Chanel but also releases its own ready-to-wear collection. The Fall 2011 collection just released and the look book images are beautiful. Shot by Karl Lagerfeld and featuring Clemence Poesy, Sasha Pivovarova and Anna Calvi, the simplicity of the black and white images is juxtapozed against the intricate details of the head pieces. I love the lace headbands, the spiked headbands – really I love every piece. There’s something for different looks and occasions. I also love that Maison Michel specializes in millinery and that is how Coco Chanel herself got her start. Check out the look book…
July 21, 2011
Chanel Fall-Winter 2011/2012 Haute Couture Inspiration: Metropolis
It’s no secret that Karl Lagerfeld is a fan of Metropolis, a German Expressionist science-fiction silent movie filmed in 1927. Last year for the February issue of Vogue Germany Lagerfeld shot a stunning editorial called “Return to Metropolis.” It’s also been said the he recently purchased a set of film stills signed by Fritz Lang, the film’s director to Brigitte Helm, the young actress who starred in the film. So, it would only seem natural to see a bit of Metropolis seeping into the Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2011/2012 collection.
Metropolis is the most expensive silent film ever made – adjusted for inflation it cost about $200 million. The film is about a futuristic dystopica and explores the relationship between groups in society (simplisticly speaking thinkers v. workers). In the midst of all this we have a “mad scientist” of sorts who has created a robot woman. (I apologize there’s really more to the story but I’m trying to be brief).
So where do we see Metropolis in the Chanel Fall 2011 couture collection? Karl is rarely, if ever, inspired by just one thing so we see little hints here and there. First, the film was released in 1927, when Coco Chanel was riding her shooting star of a career and many of the clothing styles in the couture show were inspired by the 1920s and 1930s. The futuristic feel of Coco Vendôme lit up at night in lights and the models’ LED light shoes felt futuristic. And the robotic Coco atop the central columns perhaps an homage to the robot in Metropolis? We’ll never know for sure, but what I do know, is that Karl Lagerfeld likes to keep us guessing. He gives us enough to come up with our theories but he’s always full of surprises.
July 16, 2011
Chanel Lace Veils: Then & Now
Coco Chanel : The Granger Collection : Topfoto
One of my favorite details of the Chanel Fall-Winter 2011/2012 runway show were the lace veils worn over the models’ eyes. I love lace in general, but worn over the eyes it’s very mysterious and seductive. While Peter Philips said that the lace veils in the Fall-Winter 2011/2012 show were inspired by cat burglars, the idea was not entirely without any basis in the Chanel brand. In 2007, veils were used on the runway and Coco Chanel herself wore hats with lace veils attached to them.
In the Chanel Spring 2007 Haute Couture show models wore similar veils. The 2007 veils were not made of lace but look like they were made from tulle or chiffon. The main difference is that the 2007 veils had beading/rhinestones near the eyes. I can’t say which I like better – I love both of them. The lace veils are very runway/editorial – I wish I had the guts to wear this out. I need to be invited to a masquerade ball.
July 7, 2011
Anna Wintour Accepts Legion d’Honneur in Chanel Haute Couture
Anna Wintour accepted Legion d’Honneur – the highest award in France – in a midnight blue beaded Chanel Haute Couture suit fresh off the runway. She looks very elegant and what better to wear than Chanel Haute Couture to accept such a prestigious award?
