From the looks of it, it was probably Karl Lagerfeld’s first time at the rodeo.
For Chanel’s annual métiers d’art runway show in Dallas Tuesday night, the designer may have interpreted the “Wild” in “Wild, Wild West” a little too loosely, taking major liberties with mostly cowboy and Native American themes, reimagining Stetson hats and cowboy boots.
Not that he tried to deny it. As he told Style.com, “It's a reinvention of something I don't really know, but that I like to play with.”
He also told reporters: “I love Dallas. Texas is wild, but I made it more romantic.”
Well, the looks were definitely country, a little bit rock-and-roll, and plenty in between to boot.
Speaking of boots, there were many iterations going around: in the form of trompe l’oeil stockings; and by being paired with the classic Chanel tweed suit — a look that “Coco” herself sports in The Return, the 30-minute fashion film that debuted in conjunction with the runway show.
Ready-to-wear interpretations of the Lone Star State came in the form of a cocktail dress and matching jacket embroidered with thousands of red and silver stars; skirts resembling shag carpets; knitted caftans; high-necked prairie blouses; and denim looks paired with white frills — which is ironic since one of the choicest quotes in The Return was when Coco told an American journalist (played by Brit Rupert Everett with a curiously affected French accent): “Is that your idea of youth? Try wearing blue jeans — see what it does to your face.”
Arm candy came in the form of buckled-and-fringed bags that were draped over the forearm like a horse saddle. Meanwhile, several models resembled Yankee Doodle riding into town with feathers in their caps.
But the headdress of the evening belonged to Caroline de Maigret, who modeled the last look of the evening: An all-white, kitschy take on Native American feathered costumes. Naturally, it's already prompted some outrage.
Of course, it’s a Lagerfeld trademark to stretch a theme to its hilt. His Paris-Bombay Métiers d'Art 2011/12 show riffed on the legendary gilt and excess of India’s maharajas; the 2009/2010 instalment in Shanghai explored several inappropriate themes including Communist Chinese uniforms and coolie straw hats.
But if the purpose of the métiers d’art shows is to showcase and celebrate the intricate, awe-inspiring handiwork of the 11 couture workshops that Chanel has been buying since the 1980s, this was a collection that at least achieved that aim, even if not as elegantly as the previous shows.
Kaiser Karl certainly pulled out all the stops again in Fair Park’s Automobile Building. The show featured all of Lagerfeld’s favorite models, including Brad Kroenig and his son Hudson, Stella Tennant, Lindsey Wixon and Erin Wasson, while the screening of The Return was conceptualized as a “drive-in” movie theater.
Given the movie’s thin plot, bad acting, and non sequitur scenes of Chanel waxing lyrical about needing to be loved (a rather too literal and whiny supplication for critics to be lenient), the best part of the film was seeing guests like Andre Leon Talley, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Lynn Wyatt— the Houston socialite whom Lagerfeld said inspired the collection — pack into 50s convertibles to cozy up with one another.
By the way, the show’s choice of Dallas pays homage to American retailer Stanley Marcus (of Neiman Marcus, headquartered in the Texan city), who championed Chanel’s return to designing in 1954 after a 15-year hiatus, despite the French press unanimously panning it.
To see a slideshow of Chanel’s métiers d’art looks, click here.
Watch The Return below:
