fashionologie

A Peek Backstage at the Chanel Cruise 2010 Show in Venice

fashionologie — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:18:09 PDT

>> Yesterday's Chanel Cruise spectacle opened on the Lido beach in Venice with a barefoot, becloaked Tanya Dziahileva in a tricorn hat, and was immediately followed by an afterparty at the nearby resort hotel for the guest list of 300 or so. Lara Stone wandered, "looking for a boyfriend," according to Style.com's Derek Blasberg, and the crowd was overrun with sequin jackets. Karl Lagerfeld held court on the terrace, grooving to the disco music, with a bodyguard (presumedly Sebastien Jondeau, who walked earlier in the show) "holding back the editors back from his young perfect people posse."

Afterward, Karl retired for a late night salmon dinner with a select few - among them Ingrid Sischy and Heidi Mount - in the basement of the hotel, which apparently turned out to be a dungeon, not a basement, as Lady Amanda Harlech pointed out.

A gallery from backstage at the show, below.

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Chanel's Cruise 2010 Show Lands on the Boardwalk at Sunset in Venice

fashionologie — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:05:33 PDT

>> Yesterday was all fittings and a dinner party - which host Karl Lagerfeld and his entourage were a full two hours late for (blame it on the fittings and Lady Amanda Harlech's mosquito-stung eye) - but the Chanel Cruise 2010 was this evening at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Lido Resort in Venice.

Siri Tollerod, Heidi Mount, Liu Wen, Charlotte di Calypso, and Denisa Dvorakova were all in town to walk, powwowing with Lagerfeld for their fittings yesterday; add to that list Inguna Butane and Snejana Onopka, who sent photographic evidence of their arrival, plus Lara Stone and Tatjana Patitz, who walked the finale with Karl.

Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt were spotted lounging in the sun on the Hotel Europa's terrace pre-show, and at the Excelsior Lido, white tents were set up on the beach and the pier lit up. The catwalk was a boardwalk and the front row a line of deck chairs, with editors left to deal with their heels sinking into the sand.

Last night, Lagerfeld hinted that the clothes would be reminiscent of Peggy Guggenheim, the patron whose palazzo now houses Italy’s most important collection of twentieth-century art, and inspired by Venetian high-society of the '30s, with fabrics sourced from "the rich reds of the Renaissance, Fortuny's prints, and the chiaroscuro technique of the great Italian masters."

The show happened at sunset - Karl made everyone wait two hours because he wanted to start then - with the girls wearing Marchesa Casati-inspired wigs and makeup, the opening "sailor girl-inspired cream and navy knits" and a finale of metallic lace cocktail dresses. Guests brought home a Chanel beach towel as souvenir.

More photos of the collection here.

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Cannes Film Festival 2009: Carine Roitfeld Appearances, Chanel Movie Screenings, and Lily Cole Film Debuts

fashionologie — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:06:13 PDT

>> While fashion types are currently migrating to Venice for tomorrow's Chanel Cruise 2010 show - Karl Lagerfeld arrived Monday with Baptiste Giabiconi and his runway favorites Siri Tollerod, Heidi Mount, Liu Wen, Charlotte di Calypso, and Denisa Dvorakova are all already in town for fittings and the dinner Karl's hosting tonight - many are continuing on to the Cannes Film Festival, which opened today.

In fact, the Chanel theme carries over in Cannes - Jan Kounen’s Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, starring Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen, screens May 24, the closing day. In between now and then, Carine Roitfeld - as well as Donatella Versace and Kenneth Cole - will make her annual appearance at amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS benefit on May 21 at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which also features an exhibition by photographer Bruce Weber.

Lily Cole, Laetitia Casta have films debuting »

Karl Lagerfeld Has Landed in Venice, Others Soon to Follow

fashionologie — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:00:54 PDT

>> The Chanel Cruise 2010 show is coming up this Thursday, and already people are in a packing panic. Style.com's Derek Blasberg tweets, "What does one wear to dinner with Karl on the Lido in Venice? WHAT? High collar? Heels? Ponytail? Wait, am I a tranny?" Grazia's style director Paula Reed is also preparing for takeoff. But Karl Lagerfeld, who made a quick stop-off yesterday at his Saint Tropez villa Ramatuelle for a Purple Fashion shoot with his new muse Baptiste Gianiconi, has already arrived in Venice, Goyard travel cases in tow, and brought Olivier Zahm along to document it all - including the Chanel logo-ed motorboat taxi that was waiting for them.
*image: source

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Chanel Teases Venice Cruise Collection; Karl Lagerfeld Directs Short Film with Lara Stone

fashionologie — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:37:31 PDT

>> Matthew Williamson launched a trippy online-only campaign video with H&M earlier this week, but his is not the only brand that has recently become fascinated with online video. Chanel just posted the first teaser for their Cruise 2010 show, taking place next Thursday, May 14 at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Lido Resort in Venice.

Karl Lagerfeld, according to press release, chose Venice as the newest Chanel runway hosting ground because Coco Chanel visited the city in the summer of 1920 to promote her beach pyjamas and soak up inspiration. A symbol that may play into the upcoming collection? The lion - Chanel collected many lion figurines while visiting, as she was a Leo. Two more cruise teaser videos will be posted under Chanel News on May 11 and May 13.

The brand has also recently launched a video highlighting their pink and jade Fall 2009 accessories, with guest appearances by a number of models, including Chanel favorites like Coco Rocha, Eniko Mihalik, Lily Donaldson, Anja Rubik, and Jessica Stam. But the best video added to their library is "Fitting Room Follies," a short film done by Karl Lagerfeld with Lara Stone trying on the Fall 2009 collection (NSFW) - you can hear him directing Lara in the background over the music.

Video: Fitting Room Follies with Lara Stone! »

fashionologie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:19:09 PDT

>> INSIDER WIRE - Despite all the cutbacks and paredowns, Chanel is still going ahead with that Cruise show in Venice that has been rumored since last June. Now, we'll just have to wait and see if the collection, which debuts next month, is accompanied by a spectacle to rival last year's in Miami. [FWD]
*image: source

Stefano Pilati's Sustainable Yves Saint Laurent Collection Didn't Sustain In-Store for Long

fashionologie — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:24:58 PDT

>> Stefano Pilati has been in New York since the weekend, hanging out at the Mercer Hotel with Purple's Olivier Zahm, Chloe Sevigny, and Waris Ahluwalia, but last night he got down to business, hosting the launch of the Yves Saint Laurent sustainable "New Vintage" collection with Barneys. All the bags, shoes, and dresses were cut from archive fabric left over from previous seasons, and Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart reports that it went fast - only a few pieces left, and she grabbed one of the bags for herself.

Today, Pilati presented his Cruise 2010 collection to press and buyers - where Chanel Iman was apparently called out for Twittering while she modeled.

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Carine Roitfeld Styles Fall 2011 Chanel Ads; Plus, a Few More Campaign Tidbits

fashionologie — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:11:23 PDT

>> Carine Roitfeld isn't totally letting go of her French roots, despite teaming up with Barneys stateside for a multifaceted Fall 2010 initiative; she also styled Chanel's Fall 2011 campaign, which Karl Lagerfeld just shot in Paris. Featured is perennial Chanel face Freja Beha Erichsen - Fall 2011 marks her fifth consecutive campaign for the house but her first solo. “The mix with Freja was genius,” Lagerfeld promises.

Lagerfeld is also repeating a face at Fendi- he's shooting Anja Rubik for her fourth straight campaign next week (“I like to work with the same girls and boys all the time,” he quips.). As is Michael Kors, who tapped Karmen Pedaru for the second time in a row, posting a picture from the Fall 2011 campaign shoot yesterday on his official Facebook. Over at Yves Saint Laurent, meanwhile, the supporting team is the same - Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin behind the lens and Joe McKenna styling - but Raquel Zimmerman is reportedly the Fall 2011 subject, replacing Spring 2011's Arizona Muse.

But back to Lagerfeld: in preparation of the upcoming Chanel Cruise 2012 fashion show in Antibes on May 9, he's gathering Erichsen, Lady Amanda Harlech, Anna Mouglalis, and Kristen McMenamy to star in his annual Chanel Cruise short film. This one, he's shooting in Monaco and the South of France.

fashionologie — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:54:27 PDT

>> Confirmed: Karl Lagerfeld in New York to Shoot Fall 2010 Fendi, Chanel Ads -Yesterday, Karl Lagerfeld was spotted shooting Freja Beha Erichsen and Abbey Lee Kershaw in Chanel around New York's SoHo and Lower East Side neighborhoods; today, Andre Leon Talley confirms that Lagerfeld is in New York to shoot both the Fall 2010 Chanel and Fendi campaigns. Apparently, Karl is also already at work on his next short film, which will debut along with the Chanel Cruise 2011 collection in St. Tropez in May. [Vogue, ajchen.com]

Andre Leon Talley on Crystal Renn's "Groundbreaking" Moment; Alyona Osmanova Joins Ford's "Plus Size" Division

fashionologie — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:52:57 PDT

>> After "plus size" model Crystal Renn walked thrice in the Chanel Cruise 2011 show, she told Fashion TV host Jeanne Beker, according to Beker's Twitter, that "she was glad Karl [Lagerfeld] used so many real women in the show and thinks it'll set a new direction in fashion..."

Andre Leon Talley seconded that emotion in a recent post on Vogue.com: "Lagerfeld had cast the show with a slightly more curvaceous model named Crystal Renn, not seen on any Chanel catwalk before. This in itself was groundbreaking for the house, but there was also the return of personality models encouraged to be themselves instead of robotic look-alikes. 'Each girl was cast because of her sense of individuality,' Lagerfeld said enthusiastically."

As for Alyona Osmanova, a former Prada and Miu Miu runway exclusive »