The Parisian Gran Palais has become a makeshift garden during the presentation of haute couture spring-summer 2018 of the house Chanel.
Its designer, Karl Lagerfeld, plays with signature codes like tweed works and adds rich crystal embroidery or sequins to get a brilliant collection.
The ineffable ability of Karl Lagerfeld with Chanel is to subtly decline references that happen lighter than a cloud. Et, at the same time, present the dense and extraordinary work done by the ateliers of Chanel as if blowing a light breeze.
The Chanel shows have become more and more spectacular. The presentation of haute couture in July was framed by the Eiffel Tower. This parade took place between Niagara Falls that flowed from walls that passed through rock, until we saw from the backstage that they were a set built on sturdy wood.
The “Tweed Coco” inevitably opened the parade is composed of huge stitches of yarn, in sweet colors and in the form of dresses, tops and skirts instead of the predictable costumes. The roses wrapped in net of hair or the intercalations of silky satin on the front of a skirt brought a youthful and insolent air. The coats, open gently at the calf, presented with subtlety, and also reminded us, the goal of this haute couture season: to provide customers with a printemps / été wardrobe for 2018.
A look of white chiffon shirt and long skirt dotted with pictorial colors marked in the Chanel wardrobe the change from day to night, as the outfits left behind pink blusher dresses and graceful dresses. What distinguished this presentation was the use of strong colors as filtered through blue skies and greenish waters, in artistic strokes: a pink satin bow around here, a handful of embroidered flowers over there and occasional colored spots, giving the garments a youthful and fresh impetus.
Some more masculine pieces, like the lace monkey; or the pantsuit with the legs cut to the knee like a page. The dresses rarely reached the ankles, showing the constant boots, made for walking, but also precious, often in pink and lace.
As the collection progressed, there was a shift towards more beach-like looks in marine tones, the overall result was quite informal: rather short skirts, some pants, bellies in the air and thigh shorts that evoked the summer vacation. When the Parisian sun came out to greet and illuminate the glass dome, the fabrics refracted the light like prisms, with the added brightness of plastic accessories scattered from top to bottom.
The sample was not the one that leave you stunned or your heart speed up. But it was still impressive to see how Karl manages to capture even the ether that surrounds him. Nature, growth and the recent meteorological disasters seemed to work at the same time in this parade, d'autre part, so impeccably Chanel.
But beyond the exquisite clothes, Karl captured a moment of gentleness and sophistication in this hectic world without that the parade seemed a tribute to the past. His dexterity is marvelous, since he is capable of intuitively capturing “the evolution of time” ou, to be more exact, how fashion breathes. “It’s a romantic mood, which is not only based on the flyers,” said Karl. “It’s a modern romanticism. I never thought I’d want to make a romantic collection; it just ended up being like that. “