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Chanel Rocks
By: Godfrey Deeny
Photo by Gruber-FWD
Mar 14, 2002/ FWD/ --- Let's bury that old adage that Karl Lagerfeld always has one just
moderate collection each season, as he is forced to stretch himself designing too many lines.
At Fendi last week, he was pretty stellar, his own Lagerfeld Gallery collection shown Friday
was powerfully Expressionist, and now the Chanel collection Karl presented today was a
live-wire, rock'n'roll affair that breathed a huge blast of oxygen into this venerable house.
In February, Lagerfeld had the hip synth pop Belgium band Vive la Fete play at a ball in his
St. Germain townhouse.
Today he put them smack in the center of the Chanel catwalk in the Carrousel du Louvre.
Most of the models looked ready to get down at the party, in high boots or high-heels with
ankle sheaths, short, sexy flared or pleated skirts and boxy little Chanel jackets.
They were classy but snappy and sassy.
"Ecoute moi! Tais toi! Encore une fois!" (Listen to me! Shut up! Once more!) screamed out
the female lead singer, attired in a black Chanel top with a white carnation.
Her loud vocals seemed to shock the venerable Madame Pompidou, France's octogenarian former
First Lady, who sat front-row.
Ironically, the man who ultimately pays for the band, Chanel owner Alain Wertheimer, wore
cotton earplugs.
Karl played with length throughout, especially with some floor-scraping wool boucle coats,
sometimes worn with super-wide faux reptile belts.
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He also offered such cool new flat handbags in blue and black covered in small dress patterns.
For outdoors came some jet-set padded parkas for the ski slopes, and for evening Carmen Kass
looked devilishly beautiful in a gray silk dress entangled in a few ribbons that fell away
to the side
Attired in a gray silk jacket and Diesel jeans, Karl took his bow beside Vive la Fete,
as the band struck up "Jesus Christ Superstar."
Did anyone say Lagerfeld had a big ego? Well why wouldn't he?
He's the one designer who just doesn't seem to grow old.
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