An Idea, Not A Reality

Always the illusionist, Karl Lagerfeld once again strategically cultivated and created the perfect atmosphere to work along side and enhance the impact of his Fall Couture collection. Transporting his audience effortlessly from the Grand Palais to an ancient theatre covered in ruins and ashen with dust, Lagerfeld set the tone for his always elaborate vision and distinctly cemented the underlying ideal of the collection- the need for couture to resonate past the red carpet and relate on a more attainable level.

‘The Old World and the New World,’ was a couture collection of gradual, beautiful incline. Accelerating from the dust on the seats and the falling debris, to the array of intricate prints and layers of textures standing for and representing the grandeur of couture in a less than ordinary approach, challenging the expected and saluting the unconventional. Slowly moving from tweeds with, as Lagerfeld referred to them, ‘the sparkle of stardust,’ into full-blown silver sheaths of magnificence, the collection was based upon foundations of underlying, unexpected glamour. The fabrics were laced with sheen and the patterns adorned with mirrored mosaics, while thick black belts were strewn around the waistlines of iridescent gowns. By highlighting the juxtaposition between the old and the new and drawing on the past to create a vision of the future, Lagerfeld made yet another, ‘new,’ idea fit the legendary mould of Chanel’s beginnings.

“Chanel is an idea, not a reality”- Karl Lagerfeld.