Post date: Jul 04, 2012 10:2:23 AM
PARIS, FRANCE (JULY 3, 2012) (CHANEL) - The favourite of the ladies who lunch, Karl Lagerfeld presented a toned down, vintage-inspired collection for Chanel on Tuesday (July 3), whose grey and pink palette and classic shapes provided a refined counterpoint to the excesses of Fashion Week.
Karl Lagerfeld unveils a toned down, vintage-inspired collection for Chanel.
Models flitted by to a light disco soundtrack, the gossamer ruffles on their sleeves and hems quivering above the catwalk, as guests sat around wicker tables inside a gallery of the airy Grand Palais adorned with camellias.
With a demure ruffle here, a discrete fringe there, and a plethora of raspberry and pale sorbet pinks, Lagerfeld presented an uber-feminine Haute Couture collection that at times felt more springlike than Fall/Winter 2012-2013.
But, lest the muted greys be viewed as tame by his younger fans, the designer injected a jolt of high-class va va voom in a showstopping silver satin gown.
The deco-inspired stunner featured a plunging neckline and peek-a-boo lining of sorbet pink that any star of Hollywood's Golden Age would have leapt at the chance to wear.
Light-as-air ruffles adorned the shoulders of one pale pink party dress, imparting angel wings to its wearer, while a chemise of delicate white feathers was coupled with sailor pants in snow white.
The collection's subdued refinement and occasional flights of fancy may have found inspiration in none other than Lagerfeld's newest design assistant - his fluffy white cat, Choupette. The feline, whom Lagerfeld has described as a "kept woman", had already influenced Chanel's Spring-Summer collection presented earlier this year.
While other designers lean heavily on fur for their cold-weather collections, it was nowhere in sight chez Chanel - perhaps another sign that Choupette is running the show.