I confess I was confused by Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2017 show. Not the clothing and accessories – many of the looks are stunning as well as wearable and saleable. Designer Karl Lagerfeld achieved his aim of “timeless but immortal” combining “sweet femininity and sportif.“
Chanel.com
Chanel.com
But the show itself left me perplexed. Granted, I’m no fashion expert, but merely an aficionada. The spectacle cannot be properly appreciated online. Nor does video capture the beauty and detail of the fine colorful tweeds, silks and lace. Or even the magic of the pixelated computerized stage. But on some level it was like playing Sesame Street’s “one of these things is not like the others” with computer coding, Star Wars, robots and 90s era rappers.
Chanel.com
Karl Lagerfeld described the underlying theme as tech: “Not technology in a cold way, but intimate technology.” I get that. The show began with two Star Wars Stormtrooper-like models (verified by my son) each sporting a desirable classic Chanel jacket, one in black and one in white. Or in Karl’s words: “the most iconic jacket of the show on a creature from an unknown future.”
Look 1
Chanel.com
The R2D2-like robot minaudiere is destined to be a galactic collectible, suitable for Chanel and Star Wars fans alike.
#ChanelDataCenter
Look 56
Choupette, Karl’s beloved feline, makes many appearances on pendants and charms. Karl must imagine a future with his cat. Okay…
Look 27
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Look 51
Perhaps velcro clothing closures are meant to signify technology in a low tech/low cost kind of way…as well as a direct threat to delicate lesage fabrics. Not sure I’m buying that. Then again, maybe real spacesuits use velcro. Better ask NASA.
A majority of the looks were topped by baseball caps worn sideways – hence the 90s era rapper reference (and for many looks, heavy gold chains completed the ensemble). Isn’t that a look back rather than forward. Some of the caps were in tweeds to match outfits but others were just colorful. In a video interview, Karl explains he was trying to make a popular item seem more like a refined fashion hat.
Purses are always hard to see in show video and the early stills, but I detected more boys, box-shaped bags, folios and a hard-to-discern bucket-like sac.
Velcro closures, Chanel.com
Look 19
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Look 53
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Look 79
LED light Boy Bag #ChanelDataCenter
#ChanelDataCenter
Chanel.com
Chanel.com
Interestingly, there were only two shapes of shoes – a sporty ballet flat and a ballet heel with ankle wraps.
Whether you’re old school or high tech, you’ll probably find something you like.
With Love,
Maura Carlin
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Updated: May 27th, 2017
Comments
2 Responses to “Chanel Data Center: Spring/Summer 2017 Impressions”
Well big thank you for bringing it out to us! I found it extremely interesting, I love those tweeds the colors are gorgeous, I do agree with you! I did not know it was velcro!!! If I was spending $5k or+ for a jacket, there is no way I would want velcro on it!!!!!! I always think over the years, one thing and one thing only: what would Coco Chanel think ❓❓
Velcro or no velcro, Karl is a genius and makes women crave Chanel more and more at each collection that comes out. CC will always have my heart :)