Daily Front Row

2008 July 1

Chanel - Paris Couture Fall 2008

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Chanel Couture Fall 2008
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(PARIS) Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel couture collection, presented at the Grand Palais on Tuesday morning, offered tried-and-true Chanel addicts more of what they love. Suiting, as always, abounded. This season, it came in the form of waist-centric jackets paired with roomy skirts that abruptly narrowed at the knee. On the dress front, who but Karl would adopt fur underskirts as a recurring theme? He also offered up some guaranteed best-sellers, especially the once tired, now splendid knit dress. Lagerfeld's were so constructed and fortified that they could hardly be classified as knits. The damp palate of grey, black, navy, smoke and misty blue was punctuated by few standout frocks, most notably a salmon cutaway taffeta evening gown. But the hues were anything but dreary, especially given the crystal detail that elevated dark day frocks into the stuff of dreams. Most memorable was a sheath worn by Sasha Pivavarova encrusted with a leafy motif on the shoulders and around the waist. Sleeves were a focal point, but they were far from the floppy, poetic fare of seasons past. These were all business--stiff, pleated, almost the vertical equivalent of a muff. (And yes, some were fur.) Intricate beading commanded the best evening gowns, especially when used on underpinnings and sleeves. On the accessory front, there was nary a bag trotted out--models uniformly wore simple fabric pumps with a squarish lucite heel. With clothes like these, who needs accoutrements?