“It’s about Chanel, however sporting it performed down,” introduced Karl Lagerfeld, simply earlier than the Spring present. “Candy, however not too ladylike.” Thus launched, a parade of neat however by no means uptight comfortable little pastel-pink checked tweeds, dainty microprinted georgette clothes, guipure lace skirts, and recent takes on Coco’s favourite tricot dressing trotted out fortunately. The inimitable signature jacket got here mild as a cardigan and delightfully trimmed with tiny raw-edged chiffon ruffles instead of the traditional braided edging. To additional underscore the superior talents of Chanel’s workshops, Lagerfeld took the sample of vintage knitted mattress covers (a labor-intensive, French-provincial method known as “ouvrage des dames”) and had it reproduced in slender, scallop-edged cardigan coats which he slipped over brief clothes. Even the teensy bikinis have been executed up in crochet.
A cute concept popped up amid all this sweetness: the khaki trench, Chanelized by ridges of tweed inset on the seams. That’s no unusual edging, as Lagerfeld took pains to level out; the tweed was specifically woven by the good Parisian couture-craft provider Lesage. In a world the place the phrase “luxurious” has been overused and devalued, Chanel is one home the place the usual flies as excessive as ever. And it’s Lagerfeld’s nonchalance with these to-die-for particulars that imbues the garments with their essence of assured stylish.
