Brad Pitt in Chanel No 5 advert

Those who are determined to be kind, or merely politically correct, will focus on the millions of dollars that Mrs Jolie has earned to make and market this commercial. I'm not one of those. I'm a fan of Chanel perfumes and their iconic commercials, of which there have been some fine ones over the years - but this one I find a right howler. Whatever Mrs Jolie's making is too, too much for something so crushingly dull and inane. It's no mean feat to be so boring in the short 30 second film (and I suppose that is a talent in itself). But unless you're an orphan waiting to join the Jolie household, you will be quite bored, click on the the video and yawn for yourself? Wasn't Mrs Jolie once the hottest cameo alive circa Thelma and Louise? At which point did he degenerate into this leaden, crusty number in the Jolie entourage? Did Jennifer Aniston have something to do with it? Not only does this commercial not add to, or explain Mrs Jolie's appeal, it hardly adds anything to the mystique of the planet's best-selling perfume. 

How I miss the signature jazz tunes of the classic Chanel ads and the iconic beauties. My all-time favourite has to be the Ridley Scott one starring Carole Bouquet.  Now that's a commercial! 

Spring 2013: My Sacred Cows

CHANEL
One of the few collections this season that probably deserves to be studied up close, and seen worn on a moving model because the bounce and energy isn't evident in the still images. This aristocratic collection by Karl Lagerfeld actually throws up a vast array of ideas and propositions for all hours of the day - something that can't be said for many of the collections. There were brisk day dresses, easy suits, cute knits, elegant tea dresses, regal cocktail numbers and dignified formal gowns.
The tweeds were truly standouts, and beautifully coloured.

You just need to look pass the hula hoop bag, the Elizabethan pearl studs, and those plastic sombreros (which  even I don't understand!).

Bottega Veneta

A lovely, reduced collection from Tomas Maier. The burnt palette of batik colours is sensual and sultry and coupled with the romantic styling, brings to mind a story set in the tropics in the 1940s. Although these dresses glanced back at the past, they don't look dusty or cliched, just rich and intelligent.Of course the workmanship and fabrics are special, but every look bears Mr Maier's imprint and that is a true auteur's work.

DRIES VAN NOTEN
Pure romance and so perfectly balanced: This is the textbook case for the combination of soft and hard, tailored with flou, masculine with feminine, rich and poor, western and eastern. And easy to wear too!

BURBERRY PRORSUM
Christopher Bailey is tirelessly genius and this collection is wonderfully accomplished as usual, and on top of that deliciously, energetically coloured and very shapely!

Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo is a true original and this collection could be a comment on the no-meaning place that fashion is at now, just a jumble of everything thrown together. A very romantic vision and what would you rather wear?

LANVIN
In a season when all you year is YSL (or any one of the handful of names we must now refer to the label), Alber Elbaz put out the definitive modern YSL collection. This reminds me that I've always thought that he was the best man for YSL. Beautiful. 

Spring 2012 Couture: Valentino

Even though lots of people are reporting that this collection references Marie Antoinette's bucolic fantasy milkmaid frocks. I think it's fairly obvious that the starting point references that pseudo-French queen Jackie O. I mean Jackie Onassis, and not Jackie Kennedy, for the two are quite different in style. To be more specific, it references the Valentino dress that she wore to marry Aristotle Onassis in 1968. The flats are a clue, as are the sleeves and the short skirts. Having said that, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri's (quite a mouthful huh?) collection is my favourite of the season. The lightness of touch in the lace, organza, and filigree, smocking, and embroidery that felt graceful, and modern.You only need to look at Chanel this season (it references the 1960s too, which is useful) to know what I mean. I usually fall down foaming at Aunty Karla's couture, but this collection feels rigid and heavy and quite, quite old.

Kiera and Cate

3'20" CoCo Mademoiselle

A bit much?

Timesless Coco

A Handsome French Woman

Karl Lagerfeld, who worked with Emmanuelle Alt as stylist on Chanel campaigns years ago, says he thinks Ms Alt's strong style could be a double-edged sword in her new role as editor of Vogue Paris: “Her style is her big shoulders, long legs, tight jeans, sleeves up to the elbow, one hip out. I personally like her. She’s a handsome French woman. She has a style, but is it enough to make a whole magazine? As editor in chief, she may blossom."

Worlds Apart

Gucci and Chanel Spring 2011 ads...

He Said She Said: Aunty Karla

“At Chanel, people don’t know limits. That’s the secret of the success of Chanel.”

"I have no personal feeling about my work, you know. It’s a job I do, I try to do.I cannot get ecstatic over something I did."

"The minute it’s shown, it’s over. I’m happy people like it and I think it’s the biggest compliment you can have in fashion, but myself, I’m the poor boy who has to make the next one."

"I don’t make dresses for myself, so I need the inspiration of girls like Ines, like Stella, like Freja and I put a few boys. The Chanel jacket is like the jeans or the white shirt and the black jacket. It’s the base of people’s dressing. But you cannot make a show only with that. So the main Chanel has to follow fashion, but there has to be an element they can find back all the time, like the quilted bag."

Weekend Reading List

My friend HHH gave me a copy of Electric Youth, my first, somewhere between drinking a large carrot and orange juice in the basement of the Paragon, and drinking a large Mosburger iced tea in the basement of Takashimaya. In between we looked at Bally shoes and Zegna sunglasses, Lego bricks and wooden picture frames, a gold Cartier pendant in the shape of a screw ("It's a pendant for a top!" I said) and a Bulgari gold chain that's just the right length. It's my first Electric Youth, a large-format collectible, as it is one of 1,000 copies, and comes with a medium sized swim trunk in navy blue printed over with tiny silver stars. This latter I've stowed away in the drawer where I keep my briefs and shorts, still in its plastic bag. The magazine I cracked open that night and greedily skimmed through. This occasional, limited publication by American Apparel, part Tiger Beat, part Bel Ami, is an interesting concept on first encounter, but I quite quickly wearied of it, and before I turned the last page, was bored.Part of HHH's routine of an afternoon is a stroll through Kinokuniya , alighting with feathery quickness on this and that magazine, dipping into the fresh glossy pages, very much like those sparrows downstairs flitting and dipping and pecking on this and that all along the shop houses of Chander Road. This afternoon, after a protracted chat with a young lady at the magazines section, about essentially nothing really, he led us to the fashion books section, where we stood a long time looking at every page of the new Jurgen Teller book; I felt like a horse standing in its stable. This is where I bought David Downton's Masters of Fashion Illustration which is simply a must have, and Paul Morand's The Allure of Chanel (with illustrations by Karl Lagerfeld), which appears to be a transcript of a long conversation with Mademoiselle herself. It's fascinating of course, she does say so many eccentric things.MC gave me a book (we had dim sum at The Cathay overlooking Handy Road) because he said that the title reminded him of me - Memories of my Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. What can he mean? In it, he wrote: "Stay every bit as silly, unpredictable and wonderful as you've always been. Love, M".
Silly? Yes, undoubtedly. Unpredictable? Surely not. I'm one of the most predictable people ever.

He Said She Said

"A magazine is a place of dialogue, questioning, experimenting, ranting, namedropping, quoting, arguing, a place for flattery and iconoclasm. A magazine is like a party in print." - Marc Valli, the editor of Elephant.Talking about elephants, the baby elephants wearing Chanel couture are so cute! The photo is by Bruce Weber, of course.

Spring 2011 Paris: Chanel

The most striking thing about a Chanel collection by Karl Lagerfeld is the immense confidence which permeats the entire proceeding - from the outscale set in the outscale location (the Grande Palais is indeed grande by any standards) to the number of exits shown (80 and counting) to the cast of models. Another thing: How meticulous every detail is. The production and the craftsmenship is so perfect that even the most hideous of designs look somewhat possible, if not plausable. And the designs, this time, were great. I don't need to wax pretty about the lightness or the perforated-like-lace items, or the flattering length - reviewers will review it exhaustively, and you can click through the beautiful yourself. Enjoy!

Khaki and Beige and Camel

This is the colour of the earthy moment in fashion. Heart.Cabat Bag: I've come to associate Bottega Veneta with this taupe-khaki. It has a rumpled, un-glitzy luxury.Celine Boot: Many labels sent out all-beige collections for fall, including my favourite Chloe.Vogue Italia September: Prada coat of course (with matching dog). Another picture to add to the unfortunately titled book Dogs In Vogue. I'm sure the humour is completely unintended.Chanel Nail Colour in Particuliere, which is like a mushroom soup colour - this kills me. I can't bear to feature the trio of khaki varnishes (yes, they are so nice) they launched for Fashion Night Out because they are for Fashion Night Out!Daria: In fast fashion khaki.Beige: There is a 2008 perfume in their Les Exclusif line but the original (which the new one in no way resembles) was from 1940. Of course Chanel was there first, as always!

Crystal Renn For Chanel

Crystal Renn in her first campaign for Chanel — for the reopening of the Chanel's Soho store. Shot in Paris by Karl Lagerfeld, the models (yes, that's the inevitable Baptiste Giabiconi) play lovers.
Ms Renn gibbering on about the Beloved Baptiste: “He is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen hands down. I remember being on set and trying not to stare but staring at him methodically nonetheless to try to figure out how perfection in a male looks. It’s insane when you look at him.” Amen.
Seriously. The Cross-Eyed One is the 'most gorgeous' man? Was she paid to say that? Is this like a product placement thing?