Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Chanel's Eco Fashion


In a bold move, Karl Lagerfeld based the Chanel Fall 2010 collection around the image of melting polar ice caps- even the show invites featured a drawing of an endangered polar bear done by Lagerfeld. The collection was teeming with fur: fur-covered boots, boleros and even head-to-toe fur suits made it confusing as to why a collection meant to draw attention to climate change featured copious amounts of fur. Lagerfeld explained after the show that the fur was not real and added that, "Fake is not chic — but fake fur is." This concern about the environment is not new for Karl Lagerfeld, who in the past has advocated incorporating more natural fabrics into fashion.

Runway shows are usually brief escapes into fanciful worlds filled with gorgeous clothes, but Lagerfeld has strayed from that this season and chosen instead to bring his audience face-to-face with an ugly reality which will have an impact on us all. This show really speaks to Karl Lagerfeld's status as an artist and visionary; that he can pair finely-crafted pieces of beautiful clothing with raising awareness about a controversial issue so seamlessly.

photo: Chanel
And if there was any doubt as to whether the massive glaciers on the runway were real, the  thermal video of the runway show confirms that the massive white structure in the middle of the runway was actually made of 240 tons ice and fits in nicely with the show's theme, "Hot and Cold."

2 comments:

  1. The display reminds me of a fashion show that could have been done in the blizzard aftermath in Washington dc!

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  2. Using any type of fur or fur-like fabrics for eco-consciousness is like a hypocrisy. Its like showing the path and casually telling not to follow. This post really has an important information that everyone should take notice.

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