In yesterday's post we looked at some of the inspirations behind Fendi's Haute Couture A/W 19 collection, that was also a sort of homage to the late Karl Lagerfeld.
On Chanel's A/W 19 Haute Couture runway (that took place on Tuesday in Paris), the house Lagerfeld led for 4 decades, his successor Virginie Viard seemed to reference the late designer in the grand setting, a double-tier immense circular library (well, OK, the books weren't real...), another extravagant setting recreated as usual in the Grand Palais.
Lagerfeld was indeed a passionate book lover (his personal library boasted 300,000 volumes) and he opened the 7L bookshop on the Rue de Lille in Paris, followed by his publishing house Editions 7L, which released fashion and photography books and re-edited rare and out-of-print books with German art publisher Steidl.
But it turned out Viard was actually hinting at the library in Gabrielle Chanel's apartment on the rue Cambon, and at Galignani, the bookstore on the rue de Rivoli where Lagerfeld also shopped. Last but not least, she used the library-themed show to refer to her own passion for books.
Quite a few models also wore reading glasses with their elegant gowns, to hint at haute library chic and at a woman who is into culture and researching.
The Haute Couture librarians on the runway donned elegant pieces such as intricately embroidered tweed designs, velvet coat dresses and evening pantsuits.
In between the satin collars and organza ruffs, there were a few stand-out pieces, from a simple yet elaborate one-shouldered full-skirted embroidered gown in a '50s style with its skirt slit open to reveal a cascade of feathers, to a pink jacquard suit integrating a shoulder area and collar built out of paper-like origami flowers, a trick symbolising how books can take a new Haute Couture life.
There were hints at Lagerfeld's style with high-collared, white-cuffed black velvet dresses, and at his beloved Viennese Secession (a theme seen also at Fendi's), but there was a tangible sign that something has changed: none of the models wore gloves and this has become more or less the rule (with some occasional exceptions) in other Chanel runway shows since Lagerfeld died.
This is actually a liberating gesture as Lagerfeld never like his hands and was afraid of showing his real age through them, but he usually claimed he used to wear gloves as a reference to the old protocol, that stated it is not polite to say hello to somebody who is wearing gloves, and favoured gloves as they made the arms longer (and longer arms apparently mean in French to be influential...). Seeing the models without any gloves also made you realise how many design decisions are not functional or necessary, but they are just forced by a designer upon wearers and consumers for very personal reasons.
Hopefully Viard will gradually leave behind more Lagerfeld-isms and come up with a more personal and modern vision for the house of Chanel. For the time being, it is legitimate to wonder if Viard's vision of Chanel may end up being more cultured and bookish than Lagerfeld's. Books and reading seem indeed to be definitely back in fashion with this collection. Superficial fashionistas and influencers only interested in clothes, accessories and selfies should maybe start getting really really worried.
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