Chanel S/S 2012 Collection

Continuing my researching into designers who had taken inspiration from the underwater world and combined them with traditional shapes to create modern designs, i came across the Chanel S/S 2012 collection by Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld is the current designer for the House of Chanel which had originally been started by the infamous Coco Chanel a designer who modernised traditional silhouettes and created iconic pieces that are still used as a basis for modern fashion today i.e the little black dress, Coco Chanel is also part of my inspiration for combining traditional with modern for this project, as inspired by the film Coco before Chanel the film which i had watched at the very start of this project.

Lagerfeld is a German Fashion designer, but also Photographer and director and artist, born on September 10th 1933 in hamburg. He is very well known in the fashion world and most notable for being head designer and creative director for the House of Chanel.

This collection is different to the others i have looked at as it is more classic, monochromatic and simplistic in silhouettes, yet still very feminine and inspiring, compared with the collections like McQueen and Burton's which tend to be more over the top and extra lavish. however it is a refreshing alternative style to the other designs which broadens my design inspiration and ideas in another direction.

The collection was inspired by the ocean and the modern shapes of the fish taking the traditional Chanel and giving a modern dive into the world below the Waves. even the set for the catwalk show was designed like a coral reef. fabrics were also modern and light using cottons, nylons, fibreglass's,polyester weightless, the silhouette is kept clean and classic, effortless as always with Chanel but completely wearable. similarly the colour palettes reflected this soft modern theme ranging from monochromatic to soft pinks,creams,soft greens and blues,shimmering greys like the scales on the fish.

Again these fabric were chosen to reflect the movement and freedom in the way the fishes move. exactly as i had been inspired on my visit to the blue planet and observed the beautifully and effortless movement of the fishes, the fabrics must therefore reflect this and be almost weightless and unrestricted to the wearer.

below are a couple of pieces i particularly liked from this collection.

i liked these design in particular as each had an element or design detail that related to the sea and fish and helped and inspired me for ideas to take from my own research that could develop these ideas in my own way. for example the above image takes the spine details on the fins of the fish and makes it a textural detailing to the entire garment, but the fabric choice is also important as it is lighter fabrics to give the element of soft fluid movement, complimenting this delicate detail. the other pieces have similar elements and each piece is created in soft floating fabrics complimented in an equally soft and feminine colour palette.

The silhouette are classic Chanel in that they are elegant and fit the women's body effortlessly however i feel for this project i wish to challenge my silhouette and pattern cutting skills so will probably take more silhouette inspiration ideas fro the McQueen collection.
Like i said above this collection theme is very similar to my own  and i will refer back to it through out the project for snippets of inspiration to inform my own designs. however it is more about the modern and fresh, soft look of the underwater creatures, almost dream like. where as i feel my project is more a combination of this and the McQueen edgy collections, taking inspiration from the movement, colours, elegance and effortlessness of the fish and creatures, my theme is more like Beautiful yet dangerous. combining all these ideas in modern meets traditional in silhouette colour palette and design detailing.

below is also the link to the show video, just because i loved the show and the idea behind this collection SO much.