Fashion and art was the focus of the the latest collection by Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel. There's always been a debate over whether fashion is art, personally, I believe that while fashion maintains some of the characteristics of art, I don't believe that fashion is entirely true when given the label of art. Lagerfeld very much played on this debate through this latest collection, as guests sat in the Grand Palais, they very much had to examine the difference between the faux art gallery and the garments presented. It challenged the viewers to not only form an opinion on this debate as they sat they were confronted by Lagerfeld visually. Ironically all of the artworks in the gallery were of course fake and created to be used in conjunction with the show. This choice by Lagerfeld is significant as he could have commissioned artists to capture the essence and heritage of the brand of Chanel through it's iconic No. 5 perfume, logo and Camellia flower among others. However, he chose not to. This decision insinuated his stance on the debate, perhaps fashion is the ironic or imitative sister of art.
The collection - as with all Chanel collections by Lagerfeld - centred around the heritage and history of the brand. Chanel, after all, is a house which praises and values it's heritage. Every collection seems to be a re-collection of the nostalgic years of Coco Chanel and of her achievements rather than focusing on the future of Chanel's role as a brand in the luxury retail industry. Depending on how Lagerfeld executes a show and collection, this usually falls into two categories, tiresome or invigorated. While it is of course respectful and desirable to acknowledge the origins of a brand, does Lagerfeld really need to do this with every single collection?
Dispensability really should be the focus of Lagerfeld's collections. Look at the collection in look-by-look and you'll notice that Lagerfeld has a habit of presenting 3 or 4 looks which feature the same materials, prints, colours or design. While some were scattered throughout the show, the pattern becomes increasingly apparent if you view the collection on a look-by-look basis and not in it's respective order. The collection totalled a number of 89 looks - unnecessary.
From tweed, to jersey, to lace and chiffon, Lagerfeld included them all in Chanel's Spring collection. The use of this huge variety of textiles whilst does show Lagerfeld's capacity to design with different textiles, seemed boisterous and unruly. While the colours used in this collection sprawled over continents, I'm not sure if Lagerfeld's goal is to design an entire wardrobe for a woman or just play with different textures and colours.
I've read everywhere that this collection focused on the 'modern' and 'contemporary', but with an unlikely assortment of colours, textiles and a total of 89 looks, Chanel's Spring 2014 collection proved to be once again a regression into Lagerfeld's fear of digressing from the heritage and authority of Chanel.
Images from style.com. View the full collection here.
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