The Lion, the Lagerfeld, and the Wardrobe

Power-house Karl Lagerfeld struck a different chord with his fall 2010 collection for Chanel. The lightness and ease that appeared in his recent collections, were replaced with dark tones, heavy materials, and a lion’s head carried by a male model at the end of the show.

Lagerfeld has famously said his collections come to him in dreams, but joked that this time the dream had been a nightmare. The collection certainly had a dark undertone, especially when compared to the glaring whites from the Spring collection, but I wouldn’t call it particularly dark. It had more of a gallant Czechoslovakian warrior feel to it…as if Lagerfeld had a moment of triumph, legendary victory and wanted to take us through the journey with him. Even the normally waif models were firm in their stance, hair in their face like they had just been through the battleground. Either way the lush furs, intricate detailing, and a reworked silhouette made every piece stand out like a mural. This was a victory for Chanel.