CHANEL S/S 2014
An all-white, swiveling platform set dressed with an orchestra and two curving staircases literally set the stage for the most stylishly futuristic runway show the fashion world has ever seen. A very specific quality of "I don't give a fuckness" mixed together with luxurious comfort and sneakers really brought about a blast of some of the coolest and extravagantly laid-back runway shows in recent history. Last year's Spring/ Summer 2014 CHANEL show in Paris' Grand Palais was expertly executed with a liquid-like focus into harmony; important aesthetic elements balanced with a mathematical elegance, celestial airiness, flowing casualness, avant-garde music, and sparkling festival eyes (peppered with some feathery "short hair don't care" type of shit) really made this Haute Couture runway show a visionary work of art.
Purple elbow pads and knee pads. #wtf Some of the models are sporting knee pads and elbow pads along with "fuck off" fanny packs. They really couldn't give less of a shit, which is what I found most interesting. Instead of robotically marching down an uneventful "Untz Untz" type of runway in foot-deforming stilettos and soul-vacuumed eyes, these shiny-eyed girls are gracefully lollygagging, skipping, and strolling around with their hands in their pockets like careless Lolita nymphets in athletic sneakers.
Sparkling festival eyes and feathery hair. The cosmetic mastermind, Peter Phillips, splashed on some enigmatic eye glitter underlining the models' big liquid eyes. It recently hit me how similar this spring and summer look is to the glittering, feathered Mardi Gras masks while I was roaming around the French Quarters in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. The dramatic eye makeup glitter combined with the feathery, over-the-top hair-affair manufactures the illusion of a mask-less festival eye mask. This is just another example of how festival culture is trickling up into Haute Couture. Or is it the other way around? Regardless, I personally wouldn't mind seeing this psychedelic makeup trend take off into monochromatic civilian life. If anything, it does remind you of the quick liquid sparkle in people's eyes while you're neck-deep in a phenethylamine.
Lollygagging like Lolita down the runway.
The runway show easily moves to the evocative electro music of the French composer and multi-instrumentalist, Sébastien Tellier. The flawlessly free-flowing music is perfectly coordinated with the laid-back aura of the free-spirited models. Again, like every other aspect of the show, the musical element is also completely in harmony with its happening surroundings—sonically amplifying the narrative of the CHANEL show. If you're not familiar with Sébastien Tellier's music, here's your chance to explore his album, Sexuality.
Mathematical elegance at the Grand Palais in Paris.
At the end of the show, the creative director for CHANEL at the time, Karl Lagerfeld, walked out in his trademark 18th century white hair, black glasses, and starched collar looking like John Adams in snake boots. Ha! All jokes aside, I feel that the underlying message of the CHANEL S/S 2014 show is subliminally packaged in flashes of progressive feminism. As I stated above, you don't normally see models on a Haute Couture runway nonchalantly skipping down a staircase in sneakers with their hands in their pockets. It seems as if they successfully zoomed out of the robotic model mode and poured out some feminine personality on the swiveling Parisian stage. Even the grand finale bridal dress featured white sneakers. Talk about a chilled back bride. It's in this sense that this CHANEL show was futuristic; it closed and obliterated the fashionable gap between men's and women's "I don't give a fuck" comfort in high fashion. Certain standards, expectations and sex-related boundaries have been solidly put in place for centuries, but visionary fashion designers, such as Karl Lagerfield, manage to find a way to fashionably melt those cultural boundaries down in an authentic pursuit of balance and harmony. That, to me, is visionary fashion.
Below is a slideshow and a video of the futuristic CHANEL show talked about on this blog. Enjoy.
Below is a slideshow and a video of the futuristic CHANEL show talked about on this blog. Enjoy.
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