Coco Avant Chanel

The summer blockbuster season is almost over (anxious to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Monday) but there are two non-blockbuster films that I am very excited to see. One of them is the documentary The September Issue, about the making of Vogue's very popular September issue, and the second is the french film Coco Avant Chanel, starring the lovely Audrey Tautou as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

Vogue UK released a few images from the film and talked to the costumer designer, Catherine Leterrier. This is what she had to say:

"The relationship with the House of Chanel was excellent," Leterrier told VOGUE.COM of the filming. "I was completely free designing exactly what I wanted for our film which takes place before Chanel created her 'maison de couture'. She started as a milliner. She became successful creating hats."

"The research process was the same as for any other period film," Leterrier explained. "We did research from real garments - in museums, flea markets, vintage shops or private collections - and research from painting and photos. For the show of the end we used authentic outfits from the Chanel Conservatory and Audrey Tautou wore a Chanel suit inspired by 'Mademoiselle' in the Sixties."

My first impression of Chanel's costumes was a bit underwhelming; the colour scheme is very dark (grey, black, navy) and monochromatic but the tailoring, the details and the fit are exquisite. They perfectly capture Chanel's free-spirit and her transformation as a designer.

The photos show her in the popular Chanel suit, complete with pearls and a wonderful dark loose suit with a wide white collar and brooch.

Although the photos don't show whether we will see any more flamboyant costumes à la Lagerfeld (to see if Karl approves the wardrobe click here,) I am looking forward to seeing these subtle, beautiful clothes.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Couture loses another master?

The fashion world has been given another kick in their stylish pants with the news that Christian Lacroix, the french couture house, has filed for bankruptcy protection today.

The U.S.-owned company has been having major financial issues for years; never making a profit and barely breaking even. Customers have been cancelling or reducing orders and ready-to-wear sales for the fall season were down 35 per cent.

But it's not just Lacroix that's in trouble: Luxury behemoth LVMH just scrapped a plan to open a Louis Vuitton flagship store in Tokyo and earlier this year Chanel laid off 200 temporary employees.

The Times explains the impact of Lacroix's filing:

"The loss of Christian Lacroix to Paris haute couture is immeasurable. Although the designer hopes to hold a small presentation during the July couture season, this was the last house established under the formal couture rules. Even a restructuring would likely have severe implications on his 125-member staff."

But the haute couture market has been on the downturn for a long time; either closing because they didn't make enough of a profit or the great masters have stepped down (or died.)

I wrote an article about the decline of haute couture in Naked Eye magazine and related it to Valentino's retirement. My reason for saying that haute couture was a dying business was because of big business. Couture is not profitable. In fact just putting on an haute couture show can cost millions of dollars which the company will not make back. There are only a handful of people who can afford couture and their numbers are dwindling fast.

So it should be no suprise that Lacroix, renowned for its beautiful couture, is filing for bankruptcy protection. The real money is in accessories and ready-to-wear but even that market is taking a beating since people are realizing that it might be a tad bit insane to spend $1000 on a bag or $3000 on a dress.

The Times says:

"But just as royalty now has less attention than celebrity, so couture has lost its unique prestige, with the word bandied about by any high-end designer. And whereas fragrances produced from the mystique of haute couture once kept the houses afloat, now it is just as likely that a hip jeans brand like Diesel or a celebrity like Jennifer Lopez will have the perfume hit that has stubbornly eluded Lacroix."

So, with Paris Haute Couture week coming quickly in July, will there be one less House showing a collection? A friend of mine thinks that the company will be bailed out but I'm not so sure. Who would want to buy a company that doesn't make money?

But for the sake of fashion, I hope Lacroix will get help and is able to present a collection. We need beautiful clothes to look at now more than ever.

Photos from the Christian Lacroix Spring 2009 Couture show:

Can I be a part of your court Karl?

An ex-assistant of fashion genius Karl Lagerfeld has written a book exposing amazing information about the Kaiser. The book is called Merci Karl! (hee!)

Little tidbits include:

- That he takes "an eternity" to get ready
- He takes photos of himself at every photo shoot and surrounds himself with these photographs
- He surrounds himself with a "royal court" and nobody disagrees with him
- He dumps people "at the drop of a dime"
- He stops acknowledging peoples' existence

What else could you expect from genius? Personally I would be very disappointed if he turned out to be nice. A man like him should not be nice, he should be a cold-hearted, mean diva. The man creates amazing clothes. We should all bow in his presence.

To quash any doubts you may have, I'm posting photos of his Chanel Resort 2010 collection which I forgot to post about when it actually happened because I fainted at the gorgeousness.

And while you look through the photos, listen to Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Winter.) It will put you in the right mood. The collection showed in Venice and had a Carnivale theme with masks, big hats, black cloaks and curly hair. Despite it being a Resort collection, the colours were surprisingly dark and moody; lots of black and dark red. Against the setting Venetian sun it looked very sexy and haunting.

Audrey Tautou for Chanel No. 5

There hasn't been a release date yet for the North American premiere of Coco Avant Chanel but to whet your appetite, here is the commercial for Chanel No. 5 starring Audrey Tautou.

The commercial was directed by Amelie director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and reportedly cost $4.3 million to make.

Warning: It will make you want to jet off to the south of France and have a torrid affair with a hot man.



And here is the trailer for the movie:



And for nostalgic reasons, here is the famous Nicole Kidman Chanel No. 5 commercial:

First the print, now the shirt

A few months ago I bought this wonderful print from Danny Roberts, of the blog Igor and André (please check him out; he is an amazing artist.) Now that same print has been made into a beautiful shirt! So of course I had to have it (again...saving for what apartment?)



Here's the print:

In case you were wondering the shirt is of women wearing Chanel (recognize the sunnies? The Olsen twins made them famous.)



Yesterday I went to check out an apartment on College and Bay streets and it was really tiny. The guy who is renting it told me that when he goes shopping for furniture, art or any kind of addition to the apartment, he really has to think about the space of the apartment and whether the new object would overwhelm it. It got me thinking about how I would decorate a one-bedroom with a small living room.

First off- art. Over the last few months I've been collecting pieces that I definitely want to hang up on my walls. But if I have a small living room and bedroom I won't be able to put up everything or else it would look like a dorm room. So, art (including photographs) can't be poster-sized or else it will overwhelm the room. I like the idea of having one big horizontal print on one wall and nothing on the other walls to keep it balanced. The Chanel Girls in Glasses would be a great centre piece.

Secondly; furniture. Obviously must be multi-functional. The guy who showed me the apartment last night had a table that performed as a table for two; when pulled out it could seat six and he also used it as a desk. Brilliant.


I really want two couches. I big, fat leather couch and a love seat. But in said apartment that would take up the whole living room. So one big couch and possibly a chair would have to do.



Also, definitely a shelf that I could put up photographs, books, comics and other random stuff on.

Maybe I should just take the advice from friends and move into a bigger space that's not downtown.

One of the pieces that I'm dying to get is Danny Robert's Vogue portrait with director Sofia Coppola on the cover. I'm trying to find the magazine too so if anyone sees it on ebay let me know!


Here's the original cover:

There are a bunch of fashion photographs that I've collected that I want to make a collage out of. The Sofia photos in French Vogue are gorgeous and definitely worth putting up on your wall.


The great thing about these photographs is that they're not too "editorial." They're not obviously selling anything; they're just very beautiful works of art. I like that Sofia is showing a soft and romantic side and is not obviously pretty.

(Furniture pics from Ikea. It's the only furniture place I know of.)

What Chanel means in the 21st century

French Vogue's March 2009 issue is dedicated to Coco Chanel, how her designs still influence modern designers today and how her clothes are still relevant to woman decades after "Mademoiselle" sent her first tweed suit down the runway.

It's perfect timing since the movie Coco Avant Chanel is set to debut in France (see the trailer here) and a new No. 5 campaign staring the movie's heroine, Audrey Tautou, has premiered.

It got me thinking about how Chanel, the designer, changed the way women dress, whether Chanel the brand still has relevance today and how modern women think about the label.

It was Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's suit that transformed forever the way women dressed. In the beginning of the 20th century, women still wore corsets. Chanel decided to free women from their restrictive garments and designed a suit that would allow easy movement and yet be stylish. Chanel herself called the suit, designer in 1913, as the "fashion statement of the century." She designed the suit in jersey, a fabric that was considered at the time to be cheap and demeaning. Flexible, simple and comfortable- the suit was a statement of defiance. Chanel later added tweed to her fabric of choice and it has become one of the most recognizable fabrics of the brand. The shape of the suit is boxy, with strict lines, a fitted cut, braid trimmings, cuffs, sleeves fitted at shoulder level, pockets and a chain sewed into the hem to allow the fabric to hang perfectly. The skirts are mountained on grosgrain at hip level.
Finally, freedom from corsets! Chanel said: "I gave women's bodies their freedom back; their bodies sweated under all the showcase clothes, under their corsets, their underwear, their padding."

So ladies, thank Chanel that we're not wearing corsets anymore!

It's thanks to her that I can wear blazers, jackets and t-shirts; in short, "manly" clothes and not be ridiculed.

Of course many women cannot afford actual Chanel suits; if you buy them straight from the boutiques they will cost you at least $5000. Pretty pricey especially in these tough economic times. Of course when you buy one it will last you forever. But there is the argument that any suit designed for women today has directly been influenced by Chanel.

But what of the real thing? Do women still lust after the Chanel suit? Does it still have relevance today?

After watching the Chanel Fall 09 show, I wasn't too sure that modern women would want one. To me, the suits seemed old, a bit gothic, too dark and too frilly. They were beautifully cut and had great details but it seemed as if the suits were channeling Mozart with the high-necked frills. In short, I couldn't see a woman in her twenties who would want to wear that.

Chanel Fall 09


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Many editors make a lot of the fact that the suit can be worn by women of all ages; especially if you take it apart and wear a jacket with jeans for example. But it's hard to get rid of the image of a snarky old lady with her pearls and tweed suit (Sex and the City's Stanford's mother comes to mind.)

But then you look at the wonderful ads with Daria Werbowy in her jeans and Chanel jackets and you think 'I could wear that.'


I realized it all comes down to one rule: Keep it young. Jeans can make anything you're wearing appear fresh and modern. Even if you're wearing a dark, tweed suit with long sleeves and ruffles; if you wear it with jeans, you're hip again. Add on some shades, killer heels and simple jewelry and you're ready for a fun night out.

And check out actress Anna Mouglalis in Chanel and jeans:

To me, Chanel will always feel like a classic, timeless brand that has impeccable quality, beautifully-cut suits and style ; but it just takes some extra care to make sure you still look your age.


Here are the amazing images from French Vogue's Chanel issue:

Claudia Schiffer and Eva Herzigova


Daria Werbowy
Edita Vilkeviciute



Iris Strubegger
Karlie Kloss

(Photos: The Fashion Spot)