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.
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!
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.
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!
Peter Philips, the artistic director of Chanel Beauty has made quite a splash since he joined the Chanel team in 2008. In his short time there he’s already created cult classics like Gold Fiction, Jade and Particulière. Now you can watch the master make-up artist at work behind the scenes at runway shows, in his studio, during beauty shoots and in business meetings.
I especially love these videos because you get rare glimpses into fittings (which still take place in Mademoiselle’s salon), details of some of the accessories, the Lesage embroidery studio, and even the archives where you catch sight of original Chanel beauty products and Coco’s very first little black dress. View the videos from VogueTV below…
The much anticipated Chanel Spring Haute Couture 2010 show came and went and it temporarily made me forget I was sitting in dreary, rainy San Francisco and made me excited for spring. Karl Lagerfeld ditched the trademark black, white, and navy for a much lighter palette – one reminiscent of cotton candy and sherbet.
The collection consisted of tweed suits, short swing dresses and gorgeously intricate column gowns – all in candy colors from strawberry, peach, lemon and vanilla. Silver beading and metallic accents kept the pale shades from becoming boring and added just the right amount of pizazz – even Karl traded in his signature black tie for a metallic silver one! Chanel trademarks like pearls, camelias, bows and ruffles were all present – but used in different ways. Instead of rows of pearl necklaces, a pearl collar elegantly held a dress up. Ever flirtatious, the collection was very feminine and embodied Le sacre du printemps.
One of my favorite aspects of the show was the hair – it was swept up in a heart shape with giant bows and flowers front and center. Many of the bangs featured a white streak (the Dior Spring 2010 Haute Couture show also had white streaked hair – is this a new trend for Spring?). Makeup was kept light & sweet so as not to distract from the clothing. I’m still waiting to see detail shots but it looks like the hot new nail colors will be white and metallic silver – but I’ll have to see the close-ups to be sure.
In the mean time, you can see the full collection below.
It’s widely known that Karl Lagerfeld doesn’t like “round” people but that didn’t stop him from contributing to V Magazine’s Size Issue. Models.com just released a sneaky peek of Karl’s “Coco A Go-Go” shoot featuring Miss Dirty Martini and Jane Schmitt as “Coco.” I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure that Mademoiselle is rolling in her grave. V Magazine’s Size Issue hits newsstands on January 14th.
The much anticipated Chanel Métiers D’Art Pre-Fall 2010 Paris-Shanghai collection was shown today in Shanghai and like past Métiers D’Art collections, Karl Lagerfeld took us on a journey to another time and place. It turns out the silent film he wrote and directed did indeed give us a glimpse of some of the time periods in China’s history that inspired some pieces, namely the 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s and traditional imagery from the Imperial Court.
The collection featured Chinoiserie at its best with borrowed elements including the utilitarian military looks of Communist China, cheongsam gowns, Coolie straw hats, and accents of red and yellow. The collection was very luxurious with pendant earrings and hair pieces, camelia leather leggings, sculptural coats and shaggy furs. It wouldn’t be a Chanel show without the usual suspects: camelias galore, the iconic 2.55 handbag, and the signature tweed suit.
The collection is beautiful and I can’t wait to see detail shots of the accessories and nail colors. My favorite item in the collection by far are the leather camelia leggings – they are sexy, feminine and so necessary in my closet! More images from the collection below, as well as a video of the runway show set against the backdrop of the beauty of Shanghai.
