COCO CHANEL

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was born in 1883 in Saumur, France. She was a unique woman who wore the designs that she created. Her innovative personal style resulted in the infamous designs, which are still recognized today. This style consisted of loose “slouchy sweaters, which she wore with jewels, as if she were going to a ball” (Donofrio-Ferrezza and Hefferen 2008, 22). According to Donofrio-Ferrezza and Hefferen (2008), “Chanel was the first designer to repurpose the use of jersey fabric, which was previously used for men’s undergarments”. This innovation revolutionized knitwear, as well as fashion for years to come. When Valerie Steele chooses to describe Chanel she states that “Chanel ennobled ‘poor’ materials” (22), which was a testament to Chanel’s ability to appeal to the world of fashion in a unique and clever way. Coco Chanel died in 1971 in Paris, France, but her legacy lives on. 

 Chanel's current collection consisted of a wide array of silhouettes classically inspired, but modernly transformed.  This collection started with structured twill suits, which were very reminiscent of the twenties, and ended with sci-fi equivalent evening wear that "echoed the work of Paul Poiret, the early twentieth-century Parisian designer whom Chanel helped render irrelevant with her innovations"(Style.com, 2011). The irony found within this collection added to its intrigue. Some analysts suggest that the inspiration for this fall collection centered on the 1927's apocalyptic sci-fi classic Metropolis. The sci-fi effect cannot be ignored by Chanel fans, with the set glistening, like rain had just fallen. It was A perfect film noir atmosphere, and the correlation between Metropolis and Lagerfield's fall line is substantial. The color palette suggested darker times, and left the audience with a comfortable uneasiness. Lagerfield seemed to be keying in on Coco Chanel's personality in this collection. He chose to emphasize her multifaceted dynamic attitude through this uncompromising somber fall line. The bold twills lead into the lighter fabric, but equally bold and sharp, evening wear. 

I felt that the collection was visually interesting, and it played off of the classic colors and look of Chanel, while still offering a modern edge. The collection had a lot of variety and visual stimulus. There were garments within the line that seemed out of place, or poorly integrated. An example of poor integration is best shown in the fuchsia suit, and the white evening gown. 

I was inspired by the classic bold twill weaves found in the earlier suit collections. I really enjoyed the "out of the box" attitude that this line embodied and portrayed so well. The intermixing of heavy and light weight fabrics was intriguing. This line illustrated luxury in a sci-fi way. I appreciate the intermixing of styles within one context.

Some repetitive design details included the arm bands/sleeves, the bold prints and trims, intermixing of heavy and lightweight fabrics, etc. The color story consisted of dark colors within the range of black, grey, midnight-navy blue, white and variances therein. There was also an inclusion of fuchsia, which appeared semi out of place. 

Each model wore a head adornment and signature Chanel boots. The model's hair and make up, hats, shoes, and arm sleeves provided a cohesive collection, which allowed individual garments to vary at ease.