As I opened my monthly subscription of Vogue, I was expecting to stumble across some jaw dropping garments and accessories but Chanel had me obsessing over their ‘luxury air travel’ themed SS16 R-T-W show. The twist on the classic tweed is exactly what I love about Chanel- taking a classic and adapting it to any theme or trend. What is a classic? Chanel’s tweed is a model example.
Since 1924, tweed has been an iconic staple fabric in every collection and has proved to be extremely versatile (Friedlander et al., 2014). In a world where a different fabric or a different style is key to being known and loved as a design house, how has tweed managed to stay so current and not repetitive? Thanks to Karl Lagerfeld, he has stayed true to Chanel’s history and always found ways to reinvent the classics.
French actress Marie-Helene Arnaud served the House of Chanel as its official “public face” starting in 1958 at the age of 24. http://spenceralley.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/marie-helene-arnaud.html
Indes de la Fressange in Chanel at Coco Chanel’s Apartment, photographed by Jean-Claude Sauer, 1984. http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-23-1185-1193-view-absolut-glam-profile-chanel-by-karl-lagerfeld.html
Chanel AW01 Show. http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-23-1185-1193-view-absolut-glam-profile-chanel-by-karl-lagerfeld.html
Chanel SS16 Paris Show. http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2016/ready-to-wear/chanel
Chanel’s SS16 Ready-To-Wear show did not disappoint. Amongst the original ‘Chanel Airways’ set, there were classic structured silhouettes mixed up with boxy yet feminine, flowing looks. The airport theme and, naturally, Chanel’s signature tells- tweed, No.5 and the double C’s, were captured in every look.
How will the Chanel SS16 R-T-W collection influence the high street? Like all up market/luxury designers, Chanel’s designs can be seen in our £30 Topshop skirt from last summer. As much as we lust over £3,000 bags and £7,000 jackets, where can we expect to see Chanel influenced garments this spring/summer? We’ll have to eagerly anticipate the highstreet’s S/S collections.
Classic Coco wearing wide leg white trousers paired with signature Chanel espadrilles in 1930. This is a look that will definitely be spotted this Spring/Summer. http://www.elle.com/fashion/g8035/coco-chanel-birthday-pictures/?slide=6
Espadrilles currently on sale at Chanel.com. http://www.chanel.com/en_GB/fashion/products/shoes/g/s.espadrilles-tweed-fabric-green-.16C.G29762Y16078C8552.cat.espadrilles.html
Wide leg trousers were seen multiple times in Chanel’s SS16 show. http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2016/ready-to-wear/chanel
Friedlander, R., Ogunnaike, N., Real, E., Manning, C. and Rodulfo, K. (2014) How coco Chanel discovered her Iconic tweed. Available at: http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a15402/the-story-of-chanels-tweed/ (Accessed: 5 January 2016).
Vogue.co.uk and Harris, S. (2015) Chanel spring/summer 2016 ready-to-wear. Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2016/ready-to-wear/chanel (Accessed: 5 January 2016).
Dazed and Stansfield, T. (2015) Karl Lagerfeld to receive BFC outstanding achievement award. Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/27243/1/karl-lagerfeld-to-receive-bfc-outstanding-achievement-award (Accessed: 5 January 2016).
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