Spring 2009 Chanel couture collection

Context

Though the spring couture season took place amidst a financial crisis, the couture shows appeared generally unaffected by the economic downturn. In the words of fashion journalist Cathy Horyn, "The economic crisis doesn't really scare the people who still practice haute couture, that small, vanishing world of embroiderers, dyers and feathermakers who serve the imagination of the few remaining couturiers." The market for couture clothing is very small, however, with only a few hundred customers worldwide; Couture is generally unaffected by recessions because of their ultra-wealthy clientele.

In 2008, Chanel saw growth in all sales divisions. About one month before its couture show, however, Chanel laid off 200 temporary workers out of a total work force of 16,000. Because French luxury houses are viewed as impervious to economic downturns, the announcement shocked the press. Despite the economic crisis, Chanel's fashion president Bruno Pavlovsky told the Sunday Times that “good sales worldwide” were expected. Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel's creative director, commented that the economy affected “only … the conversation”.

References and inspiration

"The idea was a white page," Lagerfeld said of the collection. After the excesses of the bubble years preceding the economic crisis, and Chanel's own over-the-top Russian-inspired show in December 2008, Lagerfeld concluded that “housecleaning was needed”.

The show continued in the tradition of Coco Chanel's use of white. Coco Chanel often wore white, and in 1933 presented an all-white collection.

Collection

The collection consisted of all-white clothing. The clothing was typically cut in an A-line shape, with "cropped jackets with flat, squared-off shoulders and standaway collars."

During the runway show, models wore paper headdresses designed by Tokyo hairstylist and milliner Katsuya Kamo. The sixty-five headdresses were created from two packets of 11x17 photocopy paper, crumpled and twisted to achieve the desired effect. Most were sent from Tokyo, though some were constructed in Paris. Kamo and six or seven assistants "worked part-time for up to three weeks making the flowers."

Fashion show

The fashion show was held in a former bank near the Chanel headquarters on rue Cambon, rather than the Grand Palais exhibition hall where the event is typically held.

Despite the economy, the show's presentation was as lavish as ever. Rather than the “single-prop, mega-installations” employed in recent years, the set was a “glorious paper heaven” designed by Stephane Lubrina. The building's grand stairway and 32 doric columns were covered from with 6,700 enormous white paper flowers. The set took 40 workers 15 weeks to create.

Audience members were seated at round tables near the catwalk; these tables were adorned with paper flower centerpieces and white “lace” tablecloths cut from paper.

Models

Freja Beha Erichsen opened and closed the fashion show. The remaining models were:

• Sigrid Agren
• Natalia Belova
• Inguna Butane
• Charlotte di Calypso
• Tereza Cervenova
• Lily Donaldson
• Jourdan Dunn
• Denisa Dvorakova
• Tanya Dziahileva
• Lindsay Ellingson
• Kamila Filipcikova
• Magdalena Frackowiak
• Luca Gadjus
• Daniela de Jesus
• Angelika Kocheva
• Alina Kozelkova
• Anouck Lepère
• Tatiana Lyadochkina
• Elena Melnik
• Jennifer Messelier
• Heidi Mount
• Karmen Pedaru
• Pinkie
• Sasha Pivovarova
• Shu Pei Qin
• Kori Richardson
• Vlada Roslyakova
• Amanda S.
• Myf Shepherd
• Iekeliene Stange
• Skye Stracke
• Elsa Sylvan
• Siri Tollerød
• Alexandra Tomlinson
• Edita Vilkeviciute
• Liu Wen
• Queeny van der Zande

Reception

The New York Times' Cathy Horyn called the show a "rare pleasure", praising "Lagerfeld's supreme ability to concentrate on a single idea and find endless ways to express it". Sarah Mower of Style.com called the collection an "uplifting rite of spring, perfectly pitched between graphic modernism, ravishing romance, and astonishingly innovative detail."

References

References

1. Horyn, Cathy. (January 28, 2009). "In Paris, a Nod to Old Masters". [[New York Times]].
2. McDowell, Colin. (February 8, 2009). "Couture report". [[The Times]].
3. Wyllie, Alice. (January 28, 2009). "Paris Couture Week: Defiantly decadent". [[The Scotsman]].
4. Olins, Alice. (January 27, 2009}}{{dead link). "Haute couture houses profit from an influx of new money". [[The Times]].
5. (February 7, 2009). "Sweet dreams are... made of paper". [[China Daily]].
6. Cartner-Morley, Jess. (January 27, 2009). "Chanel battles to keep couture alive". [[The Guardian]].
7. Long, Carola. (February 2, 2009). "Some like it haute". [[The Independent]].
8. (January 28, 2009). "Top designers defy credit crunch". [[Sydney Morning Herald]].
9. Long, Carola. (January 28, 2009). "Lagerfeld glows with his rhapsody in white". [[The Independent]].
10. Craik, Lauren. (January 27, 2009). "Forget the recession, Chanel says the future's all white". [[The Evening Standard]].
11. Alexander, Hilary. (January 27, 2009). "Paris Haute Couture Week: Chanel". [[Daily Telegraph]].
12. (January 27, 2009). "Chanel Spring 2009 Couture". [[Style.com]].