i fully recognize the visionary genius that is karl lagerfeld. he has redefined what chanel is & fashion is forever changed by his vision, continually. however, this season’s couture collection for fall 2009 fell flat for me. i always anticipate great things coming from big fashion houses during couture season & many times i find myself dissapoined in what seems like a miscommunicated art form. not saying that its the same fashion houses from season to season; the dissapointment rotates & maybe its my own fault because i have such a high expectation of what these creative directors & vision teams will produce for us thirsty fashion spectators. couture is full on competition mode; its the portion of the runway season where all execution is to murder all that has been presented previously.

during couture season the unseen is showcased, the hidden is revealed & opulence is defined. expenses shatter & check books bleed for these garments from the corners of fashions most well known impresarios. lagerfeld is among that elite; he is expected to bring greatness. following last seasons paper, origami-esque designs, i was genuinely excited to see how well his collection would meet my insane expectations. when i seen the pieces, i didnt understand how firework detailing seen on some of the gowns was chic. i thought the usage of white floral graphics cheapened the chanel name. the garment draping made me think, “i’ve seen this before” - one of the gowns in particular had a detail that brought me back to last years fall ready-to-wear balenciaga show; the knotted fabric just below the torso. that specific gown was sequinned & was ill intended. though sexually provocative, on some real shit, cause when i seen that it made me think to myself like, “what the fuck?!”. i, again, felt like it was a cheap shot at selling sex.
  

providing fair judgement, the attention to detail was there. the inspiration for the collection was ‘floating panels’ – which, i felt, wasnt clearly translated through each garment. i feel like the overall vision of the collection was both scattered & unorganized. furthermore, im a bit bored of seeing female versions of karl lagerfeld walk the chanel runways; it was cute for a few seasons, but now its become repetitive & tedious- not to mention uninventive. the usage of lace was well placed & the tweed suit is a chanel staple that no one can argue with. the climax of the show, for me, was lara stone & baptiste giabconi closing. creativity is always seen on the set of a chanel couture show, as was seen this season. the larger than life no. 5 perfume bottles were chic & a large artistic contribution to the shows presentation. through the dated beading details of more than one of the gowns & that greecian piece; i found that the negative contrasting a positive basically amounted to nothing. with that said, i feel like this collection was slept on. not by us as an audience, but as a source of creative inspiration for what will be seen on the runways of the fall ready-to-wear season. i feel that many of lagerfeld’s ready-to-wear collections present more groundbreaking pieces than these seen here, this season. chanel is seen as a gold standard & here that standard has seemingly become tarnished.

reviewed runway images:
chanel, fall 2009 couture
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