026. Reading list: February 2008.

Amazon.com
I just finished reading The Collection by Gioia Diliberto. The book tells the story of a young girl from provincial France who goes to Paris to work as a seamstress for Chanel. It's an easy read (it took me about a day to finish the 266-page book), and it helps acquaint you with both the process of making couture and the famous couturiers of the early twentieth century.

In detail, Diliberto describes the meticulous, challenging, and time-consuming work that goes into creating a couture garment: unlike other couturiers, in Chanel's workshop, every stitch is literally hand sewn. The author also fleshes out the personality of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (or as the narrator refers to her, "Mademoiselle"), painting her as a brilliant but mercurial woman who fires workers when they become too valuable because she doesn't want to become too dependent on anyone.

It isn't a heavy-duty book, but it's definitely worth a read if you don't know much about French couture or the great couturiers of yesteryear. $16.50 at Amazon.com.

009. The New Chanel: Like It or Leave It?

"Chanel repudiated all prior canons of style and beauty. Her fashions epitomized the New Woman, youthful, independent, lithe, and athletic."
(From The City Review)


Style.com
I know you've seen it. I've seen it. We've all seen it. And no, it's not something you'd ordinarily expect from Chanel.

Admittedly, fashion houses have always had a playful side: remember Chanel's take on the skull trend? Recently, the designer label has certainly demonstrated that it wants to maintain a standing alongside chic and upbeat younger labels. But penguin sweaters, Mr. Lagerfeld?

Chanel has always striven to remain ageless rather than appear antiquated, but more and more it appears to be catering to the younger generation specifically. Take a look at another of this fall's pieces:


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And now contrast it to a piece from only the year before. (These pieces are meant to be representative of the two runway shows; I didn't pick a flamboyant piece from 2007 and a conservative one from 2006.)


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As you can see, while they are both playful, the eclectic mix of color and pattern in the 2007 garments are much more youthful than that of the 2006 outfit. And I don't think you can chalk it up to trends, either. The 2007 is rebellious, even edgy. The 2006 is playful and dark, but in a distinguished way, somehow. And while I consider all three photos to embody what I consider the Chanel "essence" - that inarticulable something, the quirkiness of the French mingled with an elegant refinedness - there has clearly been an compulsory evolution in style, even over the course of a single year. Indeed, I did read recently that Chanel has been falling in profits and is trying to revive itself by catering to a younger pool of clientele. So maybe this explains things, at least partially.

This begs the question: As a member of the twentysomething group, do I like the "new" Chanel? Stylistically, most certainly. I'd wear this in an heartbeat. And I do think the transition is graceful, incorporating both the new and old, taking the best of both. But each to their own. I won't fault you if you long for Chanel's yesteryear. And the penguin sweater? Not for me, but there will be dozens of people willing to pay $1,000+ for a Chanel granny sweater, I can assure you.

003. Kaaarl...

Okay, so I'll admit that I'm pretty much out of the loop when it comes to documentaries, but when I caught wind of a documentary called Lagerfeld Confidential that has apparently been exhibited at the German Film Festival, I got intrigued and started researching it.

I still haven't found a leak to the video online, but during my search, I discovered another documentary on YouTube called "Signe Chanel." It apparently aired on the BBC last fall. The person who uploaded the series of videos describes them as a "rare look into Karl Lagerfeld and the House of Chanel."


The highlight of that first video is definitely the narrator's syrupy cooing in French. "Kaaarl Lagerfeld. Kaaarrl... Kaaarrrlllll..." What the heck was going on during that voice recording session? Anyhoo.

The director of this series is Loïc Prigent, who has also apparently done a documentary on Marc Jacobs. I definitely can't wait until that one becomes available...