FALL COLLECTIONS / PARIS : Chanel Gilds the Basics
PARIS — Let us return to the halcyon days of the 1980s, before “downsizing” entered the national lexicon, when people who used to have lives developed lifestyles and a movie character representing Wall Street could explain his “Greed is good” doctrine with only a soupcon of irony.
The corpse of the past decade is barely cold, and already its spirit has been revived in Karl Lagerfeld’s fall collection for Chanel, which closed nine days of fall fashion shows here. Gold is good chez Chanel, as are multicolored gemstones, lace overlaid with sequins, blindingly bright paillettes and shimmering belts and buttons.
If a sense of humor lurks beneath the gilt, it is literally at ground level, where golden pumps with black patent toes, sturdy black-washed yellow boots or orange and chartreuse gym shoes bearing the Chanel logo strike a welcome “just kidding” note. The show had a military theme, so some models trod in squat infantryman’s boots, their snubbed toes glazed with black patent.
With high-wattage glitz and haute clunky footwear, Lagerfeld was either playing a little runway joke, laughing up his stylish sleeve at the nouveau riche Russians who are high fashion’s latest and most eager customers, or offering the sort of something-for-everyone line that has made Chanel such a commercial powerhouse. Because, besides the gold brocade coat dress with jeweled buttons and the cropped cashmere sweater set studded with brilliants, there were new versions of indispensable Chanel jackets--long, lean, belted and very neat indeed. Dark, iridescent cargo-pocketed pants, belted at the hip with a silver and gold chain, are the fall version of the casual khakis, spring’s big hit.
A new way to wear a single-breasted Chanel jacket is over an ankle-length sweater dress in a contrasting color. Not just any knit dress will do. Little golden Chanel buttons traveled up the dress’ kickpleat; a troika of the same buttons appeared at the ankles of skinny trousers. Lagerfeld knows how to work a detail.
The beauty of a collection so packed with ideas is its range of alternatives. If a 3-inch belt of gold mesh is too loud, or a tweed suit cuffed with bronze too gaudy, a group of beautiful black velvet evening coats, dresses, suits and pants outfits are as simple, cool and classy as could be.
Unlike so many other designers in Milan and Paris, Valentino did not turn out tricky takes on military garb. Feminine, elegant clothes are his undisputed territory, and he needn’t defend that turf from invaders. There have been a number of jumpsuits on the scene, but his were among the most sophisticated. Shown under matching coats, they featured knitted tops, embellished with stripes or an argyle pattern, attached above the waist to wool or tweed pants. Fragile sweater knits were inset with lace, paired with weightless chiffon skirts and cashmere jackets in petal colors.
Even daytime looks were shown with satin shoes, and a pearl belt repeated throughout the collection. Sometimes it was tinted to match a fur-trimmed suit and looked more like tortoise shell than pearls. But the implication was that Valentino women have few occasions that aren’t dressy. Even brunch is a time to bring out good jewelry.
Sundown delivers reasons to go all out, in a short burgundy lace pinafore worthy of Versace, its skirt of shimmering pale blue velvet. Any woman engaged in last-minute Academy Awards shopping might consider calling Rome for a Fed Ex delivery of Valentino’s one-shoulder silver sequin gown, guaranteed to set flashbulbs a-popping.
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The growth of Prada, Ferragamo and Gucci has not gone unnoticed by several traditional fashion houses known as much for silks and leather goods as clothing. Hermes, Celine and Cerruti have long been bastions of luxurious classics and top-quality accessories. Now they are becoming the places to go for the sleekest suede pants, the softest leather jackets, the plushest cashmeres.
Hermes also knows how to work a status symbol. The collier du chien design, adapted in 1929 from an aristocrat’s hunting dog collar, showed up on bracelets, watchbands and belts. The edge in the Hermes sportswear came from great colors mixed in with neutrals, as in lightweight sheepskin coats dyed bright yellow or a snug cropped yellow twin set.
Celine also let understated clothes serve as background for accessories. A belt of black leather strips strung between big silver circles, the metal ever so discreetly engraved with “Celine,” rode the hips of boot-cut pants. If suede coats and jackets seemed to fit amazingly well, closer inspection revealed knitted backs.
Cerruti is designed by a 35-year-old American, Narcisco Rodriguez, whose time spent at Calvin Klein and Anne Klein shows. He treated leather and suede as if they were jersey, for people who wear rich fabrics like sweats. His variations of dramatic, backless black silk gowns, the fabric suspended from bands of silver curving around the neck or shoulders, brought the same ease to evening wear.
Most designers sketched with long, straight lines for fall, but Herve Leger and Thierry Mugler see the female form as defined by curves. Leger first attracted attention by wrapping those curves in bands of elastic. He beautifully modified his famous bandage evening dresses by stopping the strips at the waist or hip, then making the skirts of fluid jersey that let the models float rather than hobble, their figures still magnificently defined by the black bands. Leger came into his own with this collection, proving that he can design coats, suits and jumpsuits, as well as a group of graphic puzzle dresses for evening, that are as striking as the gowns that made his reputation.
Mugler recently opened a boutique on the Left Bank, where he offers his flattering, sculpted jackets. A woman ready to fulfill a Cat Woman fantasy would wear a Mugler jacket as the designer showed them, with black vinyl leggings and needle-heeled boots. On days when applying blackish-red lipstick and strapping on a shiny black helmet seems a bit much, a muted brick-red jacket worn with a matching skirt would be a normal solution.
* Next: New York.
