FASHION WEEK: KARL LAGERFELD SHOWS GIRL POWER AT CHANEL S/S 2015
The Chanel girl had officially become a woman. At Paris’ Grand Palais Tuesday morning, Karl Lagerfeld meant business when he sent an army of models down the runway decorated as a large Parisian boulevard, Boulevard Chanel.
In a kaleidoscope of color, patterns, and silhouettes, the mood was anything but precious as Cara Delevingne and Gisele Bündchen closed the show in a feminist street protest with picket signs and megaphones. Inspired by proactive women who were ever-so-slightly disrupted by the realities of daily life, Lagerfeld referred to lessons from his feminist mother when discussing the looks. Gone were the skirt-suit uniform and flowy fabrics of seasons past, which were traded in for wide-leg pants and over-sized coats in electric tweeds. Psychedelic prints in vibrant hues were splashed across everything from boots and capes to juicy neckties topping off relaxed menswear looks.
The show’s aesthetic was as real-world as it was empowering with no cohesive hair or makeup concept. Each model sported a different, naturally disheveled coif with minimal product channeling the street style pageant of a city block.
“They’re all pieces everyone can play with. No ’60s, no ’70s, no whatever, more mode de vie than mode,” said Lagerfeld on Style.com. Dubbed the Norma Rae of fashion by Women’s Wear Daily, it’s not clear whether Lagerfeld was staging his runway for a political statement or a cry for the women’s right to be chic, but one thing was certain: these outfits were intended for no one’s approval but their adorners’.
“It’s not the red carpet,” said Lagerfeld. “It’s the street.”
Yannis Vlamos (Indigitalimages.com)








