ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories: Fall/Winter 2015/16 Haute Couture

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Backstage II of Cercle Privé by CHANEL Fall 2015 Couture

This was a hands-down Lagerfeldian jackpot of a show Chanel couture at its controlled and civilized best, worn by models who walked single file around the roulette and blackjack tables. True, there was a distraction at the beginning Lagerfeld had been experimenting with 3-D printing to generate quilted, seamless jackets. But the context of the casino meant that everything needed to look classy rather than avant-garde and that worked wholly to the advantage of Lagerfeld.

It gave him the chance to present an almost eighties silhouette epauletted ivory pencil-skirted suits haven’t looked this good for decades. It allowed him to rethink a chic evening-pant look (such options, likewise, haven’t been available for half a generation), and to concentrate on a zillion alternative cocktail silhouettes, from a lovely tank dress with soft, pearl-embroidered tiers to a white-collared navy guipure lace midi coatdress. “I like the dressy effect,” Lagerfeld mused at the end of it all. So, surely, will his couture customers. When all is said and done, who would not want to bet her money on a long-lasting classic?

Enjoy more than 100 CHANEL-editorials on my special Google+ CHANEL collection!

LoL, Andrea

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Photo Credit/Source: The House of CHANEL

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'Backstage of Cercle Privé by CHANEL Fall 2015 Couture'

Dressed in Chanel and sporting exquisite platinum and diamond creations from the re-issue of the house’s 1932 “Bijoux de Diamants” collection - the only high jewelry collection ever created by Gabrielle Chanel - they were the epitome of elegance as they embraced the gambling spirit. Ever the perfectionist, Chanel ensured no detail was spared for this ephemeral game space: the slot machines sported references to 31 rue Cambon, Camellias and Mademoiselle Chanel’s fetish numbers (5 in particular); locked-Cs came interspersed with playing card motifs to form a monogram on the geometric gray and beige carpet.

Monday, 31 August 2015

Paris Haute Couture | ELIE SAAB Fall 2015 Couture

Backstage almost felt like a glistening Byzantium palace as the models walked around in their delicately embroidered gowns. A collection devoted to grandeur, opulence, and the beauty of women. A homage to the essence of ELIE SAAB.

The Nirvana classic "Come as You Are" soundtracked at the Elie Saab Haute Couture show. But this was no grunge change of heart for the Lebanese couturier. Saab was hosting a party debut July to celebrate the opening of his second boutique in Paris. His tried-and-true formula of floor-scraping, mostly diaphanous dresses embroidered in varying degrees with beads, sequins, and appliqués is working well for him. From season to season, novelty has come from the color palette. This time around he worked mostly in shades of gold, inspired, as his notes explained, by his early work in the 1990s. His wife walked down the aisle in a golden wedding gown of Saab's creation 25 years ago this July 4.

Beyond the flattering golden hues (preferable to the jewel tones he also employed), what distinguished this Saab collection from other ones was the generally light touch he used with embellishments and a mood that was often more innocent than va-va-voom. One of the freshest dresses paraded out on low-heeled velvet sandals, with a hemline raised insouciantly a couple of inches above the ankles. Another silhouette that surprised was a tunic and a pair of narrow trousers topped by a sleeveless coat, its shoulders ringed in bands of fur. Saab should consider exploring both of these new directions in the future. Elsewhere, the dresses felt more familiar, but if the show suffered from repetition, there were a few beauties. Two gowns in particular one halter style, the other with thin chain-link shoulder straps were embroidered with gold metal flowers in such a way that they shimmered like Klimts.

Enjoy ELIE SAAB F/W '15/16 Haute Couture backstage & runway video during this post!