6.26.2010

The day before my birthday, Karl Lagerfeld gave me a gift. It’s called Cruise 2010/2011.

View the magic here.

How thoughtful of him! To open with an adorable band playing a sweet melody, who created a breeze that traveled from St. Tropez to Atlanta so I could taste the sunny delight of the French town. To capture the lazy smiling-sun atmosphere, KL shipped the models in on speedboats by the handful and had them saunter in their flowing florals in a runway set-up by the seaside. There’s no better way to ring in this stifling summer other than the dresses and ruffles that Lagerfeld offered up.

This collection’s vibrant color palette ranged from desert-sand gold to rosy pink, with dashes of chocolatey brown. The stark whites stood out brilliantly in contrast to the nudes and neutrals used in other looks. A group of black-on-white dresses stayed true to the classic Chanel minimalism. A few looks offset their lumberjack-esque check pattern with a feminine silhouette, and I can easily envision the caftan pieces breezing down a walkway in Marrakech. More so, the white blazer on Freja Beha Erichsen is another re-creation of the favorite statement piece.

For day, a couple of shirtdresses are the perfect look for a picnic date, or to stroll through exotic outdoor markets. For a night on the town, the collection offers a few sparkly black numbers, and even a man’s oversized robe for the morning after.

As for accessories, who doesn’t love the solid black Chanel cuff? Or chunky, layered necklaces? The simple sandals are also a welcome break from the daily power-heels-to-match-power-outfit cycle that the Chanel woman endures. How nice to trade in thick tweeds for swaying silks!

I also loved Karolina Kurkova in her Pat Cleveland-esque twirl down the runway. If it wasn’t for it’s strong sense of eighties glam [which off-puts the ‘easy, breezy, beautiful’ atmosphere of the collection] the song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” could have been a theme of the message Lagerfeld channeled: The Chanel woman on vacation doesn’t take a break from style. The finale of Georgia May Jagger hopping on a motorbike reminds us that Karl’s girl is not afraid to get down and have risky fun. (Also made clear by the sheer, peek-a-boo romper shown earlier.)

The show was perfect as a look into a complete, vacation wardrobe, with looks for every occasion. Why the only thing that was missing was me. But it’s forgiven, I’m sure my invite just got lost in the mail. Or maybe KL realized that I’d be taking AP exams that week and so thoughtfully channeled my loves into the collection. Either way, this resort show just added another reason to my long list of “Why I Love Chanel.” Merci, Lagerfeld, merci.

-xoxo Mo