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It seems that ‘under the sea’ is a re-occurring theme for next season and apart from similar showings at Holly Fulton, Mary Katrantzou, Versace and Givenchy, it now seems that Karl Lagerfeld has got in on the act for Chanel too.
As always Chanel’s collection was held at the Grand Palais with a bleached white set decorated with oversized shells, sea horses and sea weed – which were positioned to climb up the huge glistening curtain that was containing it all.
Clearly money being no object, for his spring/summer 2012 Chanel collection, Lagerfeld turned to the ocean for inspiration and brought a new lease of life towards a futuristic style mermaid. Models wore pleated organza tops with PVC style trousers alongside PVC suits, however this quickly changed to more transcendent pearly hues with the iconic Chanel tweed suits, jackets and cardigans being emblazoned in pearls and translucent sequins which shimmered a sea green colour in the light.
Accessory wise Chanel brought new pearl encrusted hand-held clutch bag on to the floor – a desirable hit no doubt for next summer – as well as flat silver pointed shoe boots and signature double ‘C’ logo pearl pendants; strings of pearls were also added to models waists to create belts.
Jellyfish style skirts in mint and pale pink conjured up sea-like movements in tulle and lace as the models walked down the catwalk and were teamed with tiered chiffon vests; these were also worn with athletic shorts. Swimwear was starch white in full body swimming suits and structured bikinis; Lagerfeld also added in a clear and navy PVC option complete with matching rain coat perhaps for the glamping festival type in us. Silver lame skirts with drawstring waists and dropped hems with ostrich feathers were also apparent.
Lagerfeld left no stone or coral patch unturned as he added scale printed dresses in cream and pink tones to the show, making next season all very chic and all very Chanel indeed.
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