Chanel Spring Summer 2012 @ Paris Fashion Week

You are cordially invited

Please forgive me for my use of a terrible pun, but there was definitely something fishy going on with the Chanel S/S 2012 collection at Paris Fashion Week.This show was too perfect to escape a blog post. Hosted under the glass-domed roof of the Grand Palais, it was very much under the sea (I hope you're all humming that for the rest of the day now) with a very tranquil looking catwalk which was the length of two football pitches; an underwater inspired paradise with clumps of seaweed, shells and "bubbles".

One by one, the models began to emerge from a bubble-infested cavern. The first few monochrome outfits are pretty basic - knee length skirts, structured shape and practical. A minute or so in and we start to get a taster of the pastels that seem to be so popular for Spring/Summer, after Daphne Groeneveld, in a glitter adorned white ensemble - the perfection being that it doesn't end up looking tacky. When they zoomed in on her, that's when I noticed, all the model's had pearls adorning their slicked back hair. A cute, fitting accompaniment to the underwater theme.

The outfits were very much sea inspired, the shapes and patterns reminded me very much of fish; the use of metallics symbolizing the metallic sheen of a fish, the criss crossed patterns that resemble a fish's scales, chiffon skirts flaring at the bottom recreating the shape of a fish's tail.
A fusion of very 90's transparent, plastic rain coats, chiffon, florals, metallics, and of course, the trademark tweed jackets and quilted, chain bags.
As if this wasn't a spectacle for the lucky front-rowers, the life sized clam opened itself up to reveal Florence Welch, concealed inside. Welch proceeded to sing What the Water Gave Me (another cleverly suiting addition) looking like a modern day, Chanel-clad Venus, while the models continued their rounds along the "seafloor".

On the beauty side, were pearlescent nails with matching eyeshadow and natural groomed brows. It was a very metallic affair, and natural like the sea itself.
All in all, a very cutesy, mermaid inspired show. My favourite was the minty coloured outfit worn by Lindsey Wixon.

I don't know about any of you, but this show was most aesthetic to behold. Ya done good, Lagerfeld.

London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Favourites

My first Fashion Week post, or should I say, my first proper Fashion Week post. My own personal response to London Fashion Week which was a week ago so I'm well behind on making this, as I usually am with posts. Also, copying and pasting photos, as simple as it may be, is awfully time consuming!

Topshop Unique

I adore Topshop Unique's mashup of Egyptian and Ghetto/Street. The scarab details against the turquoise, black and gold work perfectly together, with a very authentic Pharaoh feel to it. The Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra motif on sweatshirt material stands out the most for me. It's simple but effective as it's a face everyone instantly recognizes. The second I saw this shiny-material dress, I immediately thought of this outfit Edie Sedgwick once wore which, what looks like, similar material. It could possibly the inspiration for it?

Christoper Kane

Christopher Kane's incorporation of two "at the moment" trends was another stand out for me. The very preppy cricket sweater vests over the metallic trends that resurface every Fall and Winter go wonderfully, especially in their pastel hues. LOVE!

Kinder Aggugini

This is a designer that I, so ignorantly, have never heard of before but I'm glad I have as what I've seen of his collection from LDW are lovely. The different textures (silk and velvet) go wonderfully with the peter pan collars, floral decorations and 40's style shapes of the dresses -for the two on the left anyway- and contrast, not clash, with the modern Converse-tipped heels. Note to self: look out for this guy in the future.

Meadham Kirchhoff

As they say, save the best for last and I'm not going to go against timeless clichés. The event that was Meadham Kirchhoff's show was, by the far, the single highlight of LFW. The clothes, the little ballet dancers, the pastel colours contrasting innocently with the bolder colours, as if they were chosen by a child who was given the privileged to dress herself (a style conscious child, at that). Everything about this was perfect. The outfits remind me of if a baby Harajuku Girl was in infant nursery. Everything is so fun and childish but not in an immature way. I'm really not doing it any justice, you'll have to watch the video below and decide for yourself, if you read down this far and didn't get put off by my bland choice of words and personal expression.

And to end this, I'll go back to the 'ol cliché generator by departing with:

That's all for now folks!