Lagerfeld's new carryall said it all, a clean-lined case with built-in places for everything a girl might need during the day ?? Chanel quilted handbag, Chanel blush, Chanel lipstick, Chanel fragrance, Chanel sunglasses, even a Chanel iPod. Crafted from Lucite, the case provided a crystal-clear window on the indiscreet logo count.
Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko poses during a photocall before the Fall/Winter 2009/10 women's ready-to-wear fashion collection designed by German designer Karl Lagerfeld for French fashion house Chanel during Paris Fashion Week March 10, 2009.
The irony, of course, is that with its ownership of the most identifiable look in all of fashion, Chanel can claim title to the ultimate statement of timeless elegance and to being a major pusher of conspicuous consumption. Thus, a Chanelophile can flaunt both practicality and flamboyant excess all at once. And the biggest Chanelophile of all is Lagerfeld himself.
Hence his fall collection's classic core perfect black coats, dresses and suits, all with dandyish, demonstrative white frills, whether ruffles, pleats or camellias, at the throat and cuffs. Some models wore graphic geometric pendants and rings featuring flat discs of jade, the show's first hints of color.
Just when you thought Lagerfeld's choice might be all about the color of money - wrong! Enter the pinks, as bubble-gummy upbeat as could be, starting with chill-chasing - not to mention eye-catching - heavy knit tights.
Valentino, on the other hand, is transitioning from the imposing aura of its legendary founder.
For the ready-to-wear collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli offered the first glimmer of their own stylistic identity. First hint: a fresher beauty look for their models in which they took the renowned Valentino glamour quotient down a notch or two.
They opened with a group of polite dresses in emerald green, red and acid yellow interspersed with black. Though unfettered, these were interestingly cut and seamed, signaling that, lightening up aside, the designers have no intention of going plain.
Evening featured columns and draped-bodice gowns in shades of turquoise, marigold and wine, along with black.
While not showstoppers, these were appealing, controlled evening looks to which many women relate. It all added up to a necessary step in the right direction.
