Stupid Memory

I have very mixed yet familiar feelings about Chanel Couture SS07. Karl churned out the regular mix of henious or innocuous suits, pretty-yet-conventional frocks, and the occasional gorgeous gown that he does for every single Chanel couture and ready to wear show, every single season, in the same general color palate of blacks and whites. Sure, he does a few variations on the theme, like how last couture show, he was really into beadazzling and those disgusting denim boots. This time, he worked the feathers and fringe angle. Did it work?
Sometimes, it was alright, as evidenced in this cocktail dress. Of course it's not amazing or new, and on the wrong person it'll look like the zombie cannibal twin of a bad flapper Halloween costume, but worn correctly, it's fine and flattering.


Many times, this feather and fringe motif was...well...ill-fitting and matronly, with a touch of dementia. Just look at the following picture and ask yourself, "Who would buy this? Who would pay more than $10,000 for a gown from one of the most famed couturiers in the world, wear it with tights and earrings the size of vulture eggs, and think, 'This looks good. This was worth my money.'?" Because really, this is a shapeless grey sack that Karl had shredded, stuck some embroidery on it, and slapped a jacket from the Chanel archives circa 1987 over it. Ridiculous.


Or take this dress. Without those feather-blobs on it, it could be sort of a cool dress that Irina Lazareanu would sport in W as part of some androgony spread shot by Michael Thompson, and I'd see it and think "Alright. Pretty nice." However, with the feather-blobs on, it seems like Bobbi Wiens was innocently shooting a Badgley Mishka ad, and then Edgar Allen Poe, under the influence of ecstasy, stripped, forced her to put on his overcoat and belt, and then pushed her into a flock of rabid ravens.


But then occasionally, there was some good. This dress that Anouck is wearing works because the somber navy and the classic cut balance out the insane feather shoulders and the glitter, um, everywhere. It's definitely a fairy tale dress, and you have to carry yourself the right way in it, but I like. It's pretty and girly and utterly magical.


The epitome of my mixed feelings for Chanel came in the form of the finale. The cape. What can be said about the cape? Part of me loves it because it's so over the top, but a larger part of me hates it because it's a too-easy way to get attention. It's not beautiful, it doesn't look like it took that much work (in the grand scheme of couture-making), and it's just some random frilly item that reminds me of a christening outfit. It seems like it's a way to classify the show as couture, because since basically everything in this show could have been in a ready-to-wear show, having this one statement piece, this one over-the-top garment, makes it couture.
Aside from that, the dress underneath the cape was beautiful. It could have been more body-conscious, but it was sleek, minimal, and beautiful, and I really appreciate that Karl didn't take the fringe to the extreme in this piece, just leaving it around the shins, giving it a mermaid look.


Pictures from style.com