Quicksilver

Karl (l) and Armani (r) in cahoots.

I'm always a little suspect when more than one designer at a time is suddenly struck with a concurrent aesthetic revelation. This couture season has seen both Armani and Kaiser Karl take pretty drastic turns toward looks that aren't usually part of their output. The two showed collections based on silver tones; Armani stated the moon as inspiration and Lagerfeld abandoned his usual palette of black, white, and Chanel Gold for silver embellished pastels. Now, to be fair this could all be truth, but part of me wishes to expose to my audience a little known aspect of the fashion business: Trend forecasting firms.

Trendspotting: shimmering legs at Armani and Chanel.

Fashion in this capitalist society is first and foremost a business. It is a big business, a huge business. A massive business that fulfills one of the human population's three basic needs (food, shelter, and clothing). As such, there is a major motivation to keep product moving. Now more than ever fashion's fickle, fleeting attention span pushes anyone who cares to be socially accepted to buy new things so that they are on trend. And, those trends don't come from just anywhere. Trends in fashion are forecasted by huge firms whose job it is to do nothing else. They analyze data, form theories, and present evidence for what will tingle the senses of the stylish next. Nearly every single fashion house of note and large clothing retailer subscribes to their services. That is how there are these waves of seemingly divined similarities between any given season's shows. If the big trend companies say wrap dresses are next, or sky-high stilettos, or, perhaps, silvery moon tones then you are bound to see them surface on nearly all of the catwalks.

Call Vogue and tell them it's silver this season! Wait, they probably already know...

It's fine. Trend forecasting on a certain level just takes the temperature of the stylish. But, I do get a little vexed when designers play it off as their own flashes of brilliance, their own sudden revelations. Karl, did you and Giorgio have a sleepover the night you woke up stunned by the thought of silver in your head? I didn't think so.

Are You Ready For Paris?

You have a little over 36 hours until the Paris portion of fashion month begins. I suggest you brush up in the following ways:

1) Watch this video of Nicholas Kirkwood's Autumn/Winter 2009 line of shoes and then see how many pairs you see on actual editors/models/insiders at the shows. I bet you there's a near one-for-one match!



Did that make you feel dirty? Inexplicably in need of something delightfully wholesome? Move on to two quick...

2) Here's a Warhol-esque screen test featuring Kaiser Karl. Who's more Paris than Karl?



Wait, that didn't make you feel better did it? Maybe you feel worse. Um, here, move on to #3.

3) Watch Anthony Bourdain wait for that most Parisienne staple of life, a baguette freshly made in a boulangerie:



Wait, this is fashion week...nobody eats. Sorry! No bread for you!

4) Ok, why don't you go shopping at Paris's tre magnifique boutique Colette.



I could listen to that man talk for hours. I especially loved how he said "hoodie" at the 4:57 mark. Ooooodies.

5) Last, but not for a second least, take a tour of Alice's Paris apartment.



I have no idea who Alice is, but I thoroughly enjoyed that.

There. Do you feel more prepared for Paris fashion week? Me neither, but that was fun!

Watch It Happen.

One of my favorite Youtube genres is that of the video filmed photo shoot. There is something so strangely intriguing about watching still images get made. The video below is of Karl Lagerfeld shooting Lara Stone and a male model and a bunch of Chanel gear in a dressing room. Some of the shoot is so awkward to watch, while other moments of it show Karl's visual genius.



Modeling is a kind of acting for flashbulbs, it's interesting to see what gets mimed, what gets barley done, kind of like watching someone speak sign language. Movements and poses are gestural and heightened. It's all very theater of the absurd. Enjoy.

He Rocks The Paper And Scissors

In couture there is this paper thin line to be walked between spectacle and serenity, between indulgence and restraint, between luxury and elegance. The ability to tread that thread of a line is what separates the brilliant from the rest. It is the same process in any successful artwork: make something beautiful, make it interesting, push some boundaries, and reach a level of newness that creates space and thought. Do it all in a way that makes the finished product look effortless and simple; natural and approachable, yet impeccable.

Karl Lagerfeld's collections for Chanel couture do that. They do that thing that makes even the most classic, time-proven shapes and pieces come alive anew again season after season. In pop culture terms, he keeps a storied house's main lineage visible enough to qualify as timeless, but makes it innovative and fresh enough to slide right onto the backs of the hottest young things in the flashbulb saturated entertainment world. He's got the game down and he manages to draft the most brilliant players onto his team. Aside from his uber-talented seamstresses, for this spin around the fashion wheel Karl worked with Katsuya Kamo, the genius hair and makeup designer who's creations are unparalleled in their power to turn simple materials into beauty.

For his collaboration with Chanel this season, Kamo's team took scissors to paper and snipped, cut, and shaped the simple raw material into blooms, thorns, twists, spikes and poufs of headdresses and set decor. The results are gorgeous and compliment the seamstresses' craftwork completely. Well done.

Photos by Alessandro Lucioni/ Imax Tree (full images), and Mateo Volta/ Imax Tree (details) via Style.com

When Karl Stops Being Polite, And Starts Getting Real!

Ok, in all honesty I don't know if Karl Lagerfeld could ever have been described as the "polite" type, but a few years back he put himself in the reality television fish bowl. He let cameras into the Chanel operation to witness the creation of a collection from sketch to finish. So, screw the The Real World: Brooklyn and its tired, rehashed plot lines and watch friggin' incredible seamstresses whip up perfect couture on ever-present deadlines under Karl's exacting supervision. It is all much more fun than another go in the hot tub with some token twentysomethings. There were five episodes of Signe Chanel, and they are all available on YouTube. Here's the first part of the first episode, "Anticipation."

Each of the episodes are in four parts. Start with one and I think you will be hooked, just like I am. My favorite part is that the show, at least in the beginning, focuses mostly on the seamstresses. They are wonderful. Real women, with real talent. They are a demographic you never see in today's hyper-ageist, oversexified "reality" programming. And, better yet, they are the bread and butter of the whole super-chic operation. Watching them translate Karl's off the cuff sketches into full-fledged designs is fascinating. I call for a Chanel Channel starring them 24/7. I love them.

Ed. Note: Do yourself a favor and do not miss episode 3, "Rituals." You haven't lived until you've seen a 75 year-old woman making braid by hand on a loom she built herself in 1947.

A Pretty Penny

Karl Lagerfeld is a money maker. Literally. He has designed a new 5 Euro coin for the French Mint which he unveiled yesterday. The coin is in honor of the 125th anniversary of Coco Chanel's
birthday and features the French icon's portrait on one side, and her signature quilted pattern on the other. Although it is being pressed as a 5 Euro piece, this coin's gonna cost you a lot of coin. The limited edition currency will range in price from 45 Euros to 5,900 Euros and will be on the market December 1. Coco coins would be a great way to dress up your savings account. Just don't lose them in the couch cushions or feed them to the meter.

Image: Reuters, found on WSJ.com

Good Work, Gunshoe!

Miss Misshapes herself, and fellow Jersey Girl, Leigh Lezark (pictured above left with Parissienne rapstress Uffie) showed up to the Paris Chanel show wearing the house's gun-heeled heels from their Resort '09 collection.


Pumps that could pump you full of lead? I love a little danger with my fashion. Lagerfeld, Karl Lagerfeld does his best Bond impression with the sly stiletto below.

Don't mess with the well dressed.

Images (top to bottom): handbag.com, jakandjil.com, Shoewawa.com

Karl's Got a Brand New Bag

When times get tough, only the clever will survive. Everyone in fashion knows that accessories are where the cash is, and most literally the cash is in the handbags. Runaway bags have been runway to retail deal makers for the past few seasons, replacing the must have dress with the must have tote. While the saturation of the IT bag has begun to push the hype into the over territory, there are still plenty of pretty young (and old) things that will pay a gorgeous penny for a great bag. Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld to reinvent the Chanel bag with enough newness to stir want in the hearts of many. Karl turned the classic bags on their sides, hanging the quilted sacs vertically from their signature chains. He also crafted copies of the Chanel retail shopping bags in leather. This way you can postpone your buyer's remorse indefinitely, ever tricking yourself into believing your purchase is fresh from the store. Clever, clever Karl.

And if I had a king's ransom to drop on a bag of my choice, I think I'd go with the quilted Chanel guitar bag. Now, I don't play guitar but I could pretend to, and it would certainly fit everything I could possibly ever think to bring anywhere. I guarantee you see someone pick this to be their purse of the season.

I'd rock that rockin' bag.

Images: Matteo Volta for Style.com

Allons-y! (That's "Let's Go!" in Francais)

Hold on to your berets kids, it's Paris time! We are right on schedule for the opening of SS '09 Paris Fashion Week, the biggest kahuna of them all (sorry New York, but it's true). We've got a lot of shows ahead of us and here's some of the info you'll need to prepare: You can click here to view the official itinerary of the week. The biggest of the big guns come out locked and loaded in Paris: Gaultier, Pugh, Galliano, Yamamoto, Ghesquiere, Lagerfeld, McQueen. Ooh la la! I'm so excited I could oui, oui! Oh, I just couldn't resist. How declasse of me!

The Parisienne streets are alive with mode. Take a look at who Face Hunter caught stalking the Rues in the city of light...

The cutest little gamine that side of the Seine, and a serious heavy metal fan. Plenty more are sure to follow. Stay close, mon chers!

images: FaceHunter

I want to float too.

I can't decide whether this image of a floating Cate Blanchett channeling Bob Dylan makes me want to be reborn as a classy Aussie actress with great bone structure, or wear skinny boy suits for the rest of my days. Either way I love it.

On another note, I really hope that the days of ballooning tops over stretchy black leggings are a thing of the past, but...

sweet lacy half tights can just barely be called leggings. I predict they will be stretched delicately over hip thighs before too long. Just remember they aren't opaque and you should wear appropriate over clothes please.

A match made in heaven:

C-Love 3.0 meets her future self! Maybe she finally read her free copy of Karl's don'teat book.


Fashion week(s) round-up to follow.