Chanel Girls

Chanel Girls

EDIE CAMPBELL was given one of the ultimate modelling accolades on Tuesday, when she closed the Chanel spring/summer 2012 couture show - but the experience was nearly all too much.

"Well I didn't really realise that it was a big deal until I was told by a few people just how important the wedding dress is," she told us. "And I wasn't nervous until about two minutes before I had to go on, at which point I nearly did a runner - but I'd probably be a bit obvious sprinting into the distance wearing a wedding dress."

The "bride" is typically thought to be the most important look of a couture show, and allows the designer to demonstrate their most intricate and impressive techniques - and Campbell fully understood the responsibility of wearing such a dress.

"I'm very flattered and a little confused," said Campbell of her role. "There were 25 people assigned to making that wedding dress and I had to try to animate all those hours of labour, so in that sense the model is important."

Currently represented by Viva London, Campbell was suitably impressed by Lagerfeld's latest Chanel offering, which took blue as its primary theme.

"I'd wear head-to-toe blue every day if it didn't make me look like a Smurf ,so yes, it's right up my street!" she laughed.

Another Chanel muse and the label's latest campaign star, Alice Dellal, also offered her praise for the iconic designer.

"He was so nice and so genuine," she said in an interview for Chanel. "I wasn't surprised by how genuine and cool he was because you can tell that, but to be able to talk to him and share the same opinions was really nice. [The campaign] was such a good experience - I'll remember it forever."

SEE CHANEL'S PAST AND PRESENT CHANEL AMBASSADORS

The British model fronts the house's new handbag line - previously modelled by Lily Allen, Vanessa Paradis and Blake Lively.

"It's so weird and so unexpected," Dellal explained said of her new role. "I'd never thought I'd so something like this. I don't want to compare myself to the other girls, who have done this, but they're all really different and so am I."

YOU SHOULD SEE: The latest Chanel couture collection....

YOU SHOULD SEE: Lagerfeld's debut collection for his new label...

Source: VOGUE – ELLA ALEXANDER 27 January 2012

The Ultimate Muse..

The Ultimate Muse

LADY Amanda Harlech has worked with two of fashion's greatest living legends - Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano - and despite the latter's fall from grace earlier this year, the pair still have a good relationship.

"I still keep in touch with him as a friend," Harlech explained. "I wish I saw more of him. I know from friends that he is getting stronger and getting better - that's all good. I'm sure he will come back. It's interesting that they haven't found anyone to fill his role at Dior."

Harlech still serves as a sounding board for Karl Lagerfeld to bounce off ideas.

"Karl doesn't have a muse - he has a very close knit family who are incredibly loyal," she told Sunday Times Style. "Working with him is always very different and it always depends on what time of year it is, the collection we're working on or whether it's a photographic shoot. A week before a show Karl shoots the dossier de presse. It might go on until three in the morning, and the next day we work until 9pm. It's those days, during the run-up to the show, that you really lock down the look."

Harlech's interest in fashion developed at a very early age, when she worked with yet another now established fashion designer - Jasper Conran.

"As a child, I was always fascinated with dressing up," she said. "Jasper Conran lived on the street as me and he was very good at making clothes. So we did dressing up. We also went to the theatre and to the ballet. The happy transformative powers of dressing up - that is something I do remember."

YOU SHOULD SEE: Inside Harlech's new exhibition...

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Source: VOGUE - ELLA ALEXANDER 12 December 2011

Kar's edit at the Metro Newspaper

Karl's Edit

KARL LAGERFELD is set to guest edit the Metro newspaper on February 7, following in the footsteps of fellow fashion innovator Lady Gaga, who oversaw an issue in May this year. The Chanel creative director will spend a day in the Paris newsroom, supplying illustrations and commentary for its The World According to Karl edition.

"I love daily papers and it's fun to be part of one of them just for the day," Lagerfeld toldWWD.  "Metro is on a worldwide scale and it's even more fun."

The special issue will kick off Metro'scoverage for Fashion Week and will run in 100 cities in 22 countries. The newspaper has a daily readership of more than 17 million people globally.

Lagerfeld is not the only fashion name to announce plans to turn his hand to journalism this week; Naomi Campbell has taken up a new role as editor-at-large for both the Russian and German versions of Interview magazine. 

YOU SHOULD SEE: Karl Lagerfeld's most outrageous quotes...

YOU SHOULD SEE:  Lagerfeld's style evolution...

Source: VOGUE - LAUREN MILLIGAN 24 November 2011

Tom Ford For H&M?

Tom Ford For H&M?

TOM FORD maybe the next designer to team up with H&M, if current rumours are to be believed.

Margareta van den Bosch, creative director for the Swedish high street chain, commented that Ford is "a very interesting name," when asked about the possibility of a collaboration, adding "I can say, I wouldn't mind."

A collection created by Ford would be the ninth designer collaboration for H&M, whose most recent partnership with Italian fashion house Versace goes on sale in the UK tomorrow and is expected to sell out immediately. Previous designers to create exclusive pieces for the store have included Karl Lagerfeld, Matthew Williamson,Lanvin, Roberto Cavalli and Jimmy Choo. 

If rumours come to fruition, Ford's collection will undoubtedly be yet another success for H&M.

"There would be great customer interest in such a collection," Anne Critchlow, a London-based analyst at Societe Generale, told The Huffington Post, adding that the former Gucci designer confers "fashion authority". A spokesperson for Ford declined to comment on the matter.

Since leaving his role as creative director at Gucci in 2004, Ford has directed Oscar-nominated film A Single Man and started his eponymous womenswear and beauty lines.

YOU SHOULD SEE: The Versace for H&M collection...

YOU SHOULD SEE: Our favourite designer-high-street collaborations...

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SOURCE: VOGUE - BIBBY SOWRAY 16 November 2011

Karl Lagerfeld - VOGUE

Karl Lagerfeld's New Line

KARL LAGERFELD is launching a new, affordable womenswear label, entitled Karl, which is expected to go on sale in January exclusively on NET-A-PORTER.COM Prices for the rock 'n' roll-inspired collection start at €60 (£52), stretching to €450 (£391).

"It's my today's taste and style and a reflection of how I think a great number of people would like to be dressed now," Lagerfeld told WWD. "I just want not too expensive clothes that people may like and perhaps want to wear. That was my concept for a long time, but my business partners in the past wanted to be like Chanel or Fendi without putting behind what is needed to be like that."

The 100-piece range will feature evening and daywear, including timeless black dresses with plunging backs, silver jeans and vest tops. Although the collection will launch initially online, there are plans to open dedicated Karl Lagerfeld stores and temporary boutiques.

"We are thrilled and proud to be the exclusive partner for the launch of KARL,"  said said NET-A-PORTER.COM founder and executive chairman Natalie Massenet. "From the moment we saw the collection we were hooked and we can't wait to introduce this to a global fashion consumer for whom Karl Lagerfeld is an icon in his own right. The collection will speak to every woman who wants a bit of the inimitable fabulous street chic that Karl Lagerfeld is known for. And given Karl's fascination with all things modern, this will be a 21st Century launch - globally available, in-season for instant gratification and harnessing the power of the digital media and social commerce.  It's truly an honour for us to collaborate with Karl and his team."

YOU SHOULD SEE: Versace's new affordable H&M collection...

YOU SHOULD SEE:  Lagerfeld's style evolution...

YOU SHOULD SEE: Karl's wittiest quotes...

YOU SHOULD SEE:  Chanel's incredible underwater kingdom show...

Source: VOGUE - ELLA ALEXANDER 24 October 2011

Karl Lagerfeld is Mr Labelfeld...

Mr Labelfeld...

KARL LAGERFELD has come up with a new name for himself, based on his many collaborations - from Coca Cola to Magnum to Macy's.

"I'm a walking label no?" he said. "My name is Labelfeld not Lagerfeld. I have a sort of Alzheimer's for my own work, which I think is a very good thing. Today too many people remember what they did - just forget it all and start again."

When asked how he manages so effortlessly with his workload, at both Fendi and Chanel, his answer is simple.

"I have it in my blood," he told CNN. "When I was asked to Chanel, it was not trendy. I made something of it because I was given total freedom by the owner. What I do Coco would have hated. It's my job to keep Chanel updated."

Source: VOGUE ELLA ALEXANDER 14 October 2011