Chanel Couture A/W 2014-15

Chanel is a Stalworth of fashion and, even in such an ever-changing industry, it's easy to imagine it always will be. For as long as there are women, many will want to be the Chanel woman. That demographic. The club.

As much as I am one of those dreaming women, it is less the main season RTW and more the Pre/Resort collections and, of course, the couture shows that have me sighing. When I see the pictures of the Chanel Couture A/W 2014-14 collection are already up on Vogue, I eagerly and with shaking limbs, click to view them. Other shows I take in bit by bit but here I'm almost panicked in my need to see and consume. I hastily scroll through the page, too quickly for my crappy internet connection to keep up with and wait for the next images to load. Consuming is really the only correct word, I gorge and decide to come back for closer inspection once this dire need within me has been sated.

As if it ever could be.

Autumnal hues gradually freeze into icy cool tones as the collection floats by. A mixture of references and influences delight the eyes and add to my feeling of frenzy, entrancing and bewitching my senses. As one would expect from couture, it's impeccable, detailed and rich. Many Chanel standards and hallmarks are present but somehow he's done it again and found ways to make them fresh and to fit inside a collection that feels less like 20th century primness and propriety and more of 18th century extravagance and elegance.

Brocade trims grace the more simple pieces while full on embellishment swathes other garments. A gamut of fabrics and silhouettes. Eighties power-shoulders and pedal-pushers given an elegance no one knew they had in them. Punk hair with tweed suits and sweet dresses. Boyishness and ultimate princess moments. Necklines that are high and reminiscent of Eastern influences next to golden trims and shoulder clasps like something a Greek goddess would wear.

It seems almost a parade of beauty and grace through the ages and the globe, uniting all womankind in a cohesive collection. Perhaps clothing should be part of peace processes...

(Images via vogue.co.uk)

What do you make of it all? Has Colette run off on another imagination adventure or are you feeling it too?

Fashback: Dior Couture A/W 2007

Problematic as Galliano may be, he is undeniably and unbelievably talented. There's true genius in his work. One particular moment of shining wonder was his A/W 2007 Dior Couture show. Now, the moment you enter the world of couture, the potential for genius is greater than any RTW collection might normally be. Couture is the freedom to create more as an artist would, rather than pandering to the satisfaction of buyers and customers alike. It's a celebration of the medium of dress.

It is probably apparent by now, especially if you follow me on tumblr (which you should, by the way), that I'm into the 18th century. My dissertation research is based in that period and though I'm a self-proclaimed modern minimalist, I have such a week spot for the fashions. Coppola's Marie Antoinette is one of my all-time favourite movies and I reblog any shoot inspired by her or the era. Ergo, the squeeing upon setting eyes on Galliano's collection.

I love the references to masquerade (the one night a year where tightly laced upper echelons of society let loose publicly - though masked - and got up to all kinds of debauchery), the elaborate hairstyles and headpieces of the era (fascinators, I raise you one better), the pastel shades, the bows, flounces and frills. Some looks were abstracted and modernised more obviously while others took silhouettes and ideas more directly and ran with them. And yes, some elements come from later and earlier periods but I doubt accuracy or limiting himself was a concern. Instead, spectacle was.

I remember seeing a video of poet Lily Myers talking about how women learn now to be untroublesome, to edit themselves and not take up too much space. These clothes recall a time before the Victorians and repression after repression when French women were welcome (to a degree) to contribute to intellectual debates among men and took up massive amounts of space shamelessly, without shame and men and women both dressed up elaborately without apology. I sometimes wonder how different the world would be if the good parts of the 18th century weren't later undermined? Where would we be, where would I be, now?

This has turned into somewhat of an ode to Galliano's collection but I feel it deserves it. He took a bunch of Supers (one profession where women consistently earn more than men) and celebrated women, celebrated a lost moment in history and being truly couture. But there's also bite and a sense of humour present. Something dark and perhaps referencing the past but wary of it at the same time. Not mindlessly nostalgic for something that may never have even existed.

Maybe I read more into/too much into clothes than most but they are literally part of the fabric of our lives. We carry them around with us, hold them against our bodies. Clothing is intimate, physical and sentimental. And fashion has been an expression of ourselves since before people actively talked about self-expression and the individual.

So, take a look-see, be awed and enjoy x

(Images via vogue.co.uk)

Fashback: Late 18th and early 19th Century Classical Dress.

The French Revolution made clothing which alluded to the decadence of the 18th century and the aristocracy both unpopular and unwise. Even the upper classes adopted more visually modest modes of dress. Garments inspired by antiquity (a time of democracy) became fashionable and women began to turn away from complex outfits to looks inspired by statuary.

Empire silhouettes dominated and clothing was made of materials which accentuated the shape of the body in a more naturalistic and less contrived way. France, as one of the seats of fashion alongside London, lead in these respects and went one step further with reports of girls dampening their skirts so that they would cling and better show off the shape of their legs. English women remained more modest and practical.

Hair was now often worn unpowedered in loose curls that looked more natural but which were carefully arranged in reality.

The almost modern simplicity and quiet beauty of this period really appeals to me so I thought I'd share some of my favourite images! All of the works are by David who greatly influenced and lead French Republic painting and dress. Though he was somewhat of an art-dictator, his aesthetic appeals to me none-the-less!

Madame Raymond de Verniac Jacques-Louis David, 1799

Portrait of  Madame Récamier David, 1800

Madame Récamier David, 1800