Chanel lastest 3 collections a review

Chanel's year end review. Reviewing Chanel Spring 2007 RTW, Fall 2006 Haute Cutoure, and Fall 2006 RTW. Starting with the latest from Mr. Lagerfeld. Here was the gentle and edited side of Chanel, light on the flounces, tweeds, and all the bells and whistles that pour out from Carl Lagerfelds fingertips. We all know how fab Chanel tweeds are, but I am not including them in the line up here, the real highlights for me were the knits and the mini's.(click any image for larger view)

PARIS, October 6, 2006 – With perfect pitch, Karl Lagerfeld dashed off yet another virtuoso demonstration of how to play up and down the classic Chanel scale in tune with any season. It was up-tempo, light and girly, with a cute opening device: a bouncy parade of girls in standard-issue white cotton cabine coats swinging along, attracting all attention to stacks of gold cuffs, link bracelets, chain-and-pearl necklaces, and plastic-Lucite-and-glitter wedges and platforms.





















The segue into the short, A-line, and fluttery was carried off, sans effort, via breezy white flared tops over little black skirts, with a trill on the abbreviated white tucked-front shirtdress, and a high-note from a gold-quilted chain bag. Then the clever bit: What on earth to do with the old, potentially heavy-wash-cloth Chanel tweeds in such a mood? Why, put them with black sequin short shorts—thus chiming with the leggy forties showgirl theme of the moment—and shoot sparkle through the borders of the bouclé.

Instead of the multitudinous flocks of options he has sent out in the last few seasons, this single-file presentational march condensed everything that can be thoroughly Chanel, yet completely du jour. While he was at it, Lagerfeld also dashed off sporty striped T-shirt dresses, tulle-covered denim, Edie Sedgwick, metallic-scuba, and puffy Empire organza moments, but mostly it was all about those newly wantable accessories. Black leather quilted mini bags, smothered with biker-like metal logo badges, were the final ta-da. In other words, a hit.

– Sarah Mower







(click here for runway coverage from Chanel Spring 2007 RTW Collection courtesy of style.com)

Chanel Haute Cutoure Fall 2006
PARIS, July 6, 2006 – With his sharp knack for synthesizing the mood of the moment into the spirit of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld came up with a couture statement that might neatly be labeled “mod medieval.” In a short, leggy collection shown entirely with thigh-high boots, some in distressed denim, he compressed a tough vibe into a sequence of abbreviated suits and tunic dresses marched out at high speed around a stark-white runway.
















The skinny-leg device showcased Lagerfeld’s deft handling of new proportions. It started with a narrow, molded shoulder line falling to dresses with a slight flare in the hem, or to short, belled skirts articulated to swing underneath tweed jackets. One outstanding cardinal-red duchesse-satin coat with a huge bubble collar was a succinct reply to the vexed refrain of whether “volume” can be truly desirable—no question, if it looks that gorgeous.

















Still, for all the rigor of line, there was rich Chanel craftsmanship in every piece. Jeweled buttons and belts, embroideries of exploding stars, pearl and diamond hair decorations, dense patches of appliqué and stones, and smotherings of black satin bows conspired to give a fleeting impression of armor and heraldic pageantry—that’s where the sense of futuristic medievalism came into play. It all passed at such relentless velocity, though, the details were difficult to catch, at least until the very last moment. When the girls finally stood still, the audience, watching from seats on a central dais, suddenly found itself revolving, carousel-style, at leisure to inspect every look. Great trip, in every sense.

– Sarah Mower for style.com
















(click here for runway video coverage from Chanel's 2006 Fall Haute Cutoure Collection curtesy of Elle.com)


Chanel Fall 2006 RTW Collection

Here is another example that while Lagerfeld is amazing, and it is signiture, there is soooo much going on. I'm not saying that it is necessarily a bad thing, just par for the coarse. Who wouldn't love to have at least one Chanel peice (and handbags or other accessories do not count!) in their closet? These collections are fashion history. Where I sat in my lessons in college learning about Dior's New Look or Coco's drama during WWII, my future counterparts will be learning just who Carl Lagerfeld was and how he breathed such life into Chanel.

PARIS, March 3, 2006 – Karl Lagerfeld’s ability to stretch the template of Chanel this way and that according to the moment never ceases. This season, the block-heeled sixties spectator boot he first showed for couture gave him the starting point to design upward into a young and leggy look. Let les autres turn to the omnipresent Balenciaga influence; for Lagerfeld, there’s no need to look beyond the Rue Cambon for a reason to make a newly proportioned short tweed suit. Just as it was in the fifties and sixties when Coco competed with Cristobal, now Chanel’s slim coats and jackets, worn with ruffled blouses and jewel-buckled belts, represent the authentically sourced Paris alternative to the oft-quoted architectural volumes of Signor B.

Though it was mainly black, with touches of white, cream, and dull pink, Lagerfeld’s collection didn’t come off as one of the season’s solemn pronouncements on sobriety and restraint. Instead, he worked texture, sparkle, and girlishness into surfaces and styling: He used satin ribbons and bows for hair bands and bodices, raw edgings on hems, and gemstones and crystals set in big brooches or as bejeweled necklines set into evening dresses. As a contemporary twist on the classic Chanel bag he added an oversize unstructured hand-held tote—something like a laundry bag, but in patent leather, with a short chain handle.



















As always, the Chanel presentation zipped pell-mell through many options. There were simple sleeveless little black dresses and short redingotes, flared from the waist (the best in plain herringbone tweed). For evening, Lagerfeld checked off more points of the season, from exaggerated puff-sleeves to sixties Edie-ish baby dolls and various renderings of chiffon dresses layered over trousers. Cute and young was the general impression, but—no surprise—Lagerfeld also ensured that classic Chanel’s all-encompassing sweep remained firmly in the mind's eye.

– Sarah Mower style.com




















(click here for video runway coverage from Chanel Fall 2006 RTW)