Karl Lagerfeld Almost Escapes Me.

Here is a man that will never fit into any niche that has ever been assigned to him. He's so transcendent in so many ways and brings that to his collections-particularly Chanel. The beauty of the Chanel design is that it is so limited. Coco Chanel designed during a time in which luxury was still luxury. Attainable to those who were of the old rich, or nouveau riche only. Within this, the Chanel woman was easily distinguishable. That tweed suit, rich leather gloves, handbag, stockings, a low pump, oh and of course pearls. Karl Lagerfeld has single handedly transformed the Chanel woman into every woman. There is a bit of Chanel in all of us. You can not fit his Chanel woman into any category and furthermore, each collection is a dictionary of references. The Venice Cafe Society Resort 2010 collection, 'Paris Moscou' of Prefall 2009, and the Americana inspired collection of Spring 2008. Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel collections evoke art and it's history, modern history, he references literature, culture, a romance that is largely forgotten in our world today and his Chanel Spring 2010 collection was a fine example of this. It was a fun, innocent hoedown. Sweet, 'but not saccharine,' all the recurring elements seen in the Chanel design were there, and the collection was fun, understated, and progressive. A red tweed suit had a bit of a leg of mutton sleeve, a sheer checked piece with folds, ruffles, a puffed shoulder and high neck covered a black and white tweed dress, and a military inspired jacket in a light denim blue was paired with a matching long A-line skirt. Outside of the Chanel themed pieces there was a gorgeous one shouldered gown with a sheer bottom, a chic black shift dress, and when Karl went floral he opted for muted tones of red, white, and blue. The collection was kitsch and never serious, but who's to say it has to be? It's only fashion after all.