SimplyAbuDhabi XV

1 5 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I dresses have trains; others look like clouds, frothing with feathers enclosed in tulle. Karl Lagerfeld shakes up rigid couturier conventions with a seamless Haute Couture, where the jackets and coats are made from a single piece, cut on the bias. Playing with paradox, Karl Lagerfeld turns concrete into an actual fabric, uniting it with pearl, crystal and sequin embroideries. For the first time ever concrete is embroidered, sewn, inlaid, perforated like a mesh, metamorphosed into a shirt front, a martingale belt, braiding and even clothing, for day as much as night. If concrete seems an unorthodox choice, it makes more sense in the context of Paris buildings that helped inspire the collection, specifically the interplay of the modern with the Baroque. Says Lagerfeld: “I was fascinated by the possible coexistence of the essential works by Le Corbusier, opposed to the eccentricity and richness of the 18th century buildings.” In art and architecture, modernism is defined as the contrast and interaction between the old and the new. And with this collection, Lagerfeld for Chanel has created a true modernist work of art.