It’s not often that I post about a current fashion show, but then it is not often that someone presents a show that makes me want to have been there, to have soaked it all in, to even wear the clothes. In this case it is the pre-fall Chanel metiers d’art show, in which all the little craft houses owned by Chanel are put in the spotlight.
It makes sense that Lagerfeld choose Scotland as the inspiration for the show, seeing as how the house has recently acquired luxury cashmere maker, Barrie Knitwear. The factory is located in Hawick, Scotland, and before the show at Linlithgow Palace (birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots), the journalists covering the show were treated to a tour of the facility.
And the show was full of cashmere, along with lots of tweed, plaid, argyle, tams and sporran-inspired handbags. It could have easily crossed over into Scottish cliche territory, but instead, it all looked so right in a Chanel sort of way. Maybe it was because one just expects to see tweeds and knits in a Chanel show. After all, Coco Chanel herself spent many days in the Scottish countryside with the Duke of Westminster, and starting in the 1920s, sourced Scottish tweeds to be used in her creations.
To see just how dramatic the show was you can see a video of it on youtube, along with still shots of each look. Be sure to note the metiers d’art touches: feather neck ruffs from Lemarie, incredible Lesage embroidery, beautiful gloves by Causse, tweed and leather shoes and boots by Massaro, and of course, lots of tweed and leather camellias from flower maker Guillet.
And note how many of these looks can be achieved with vintage finds. It’s enough to make one go running to the nearest thrift store or vintage clothing shop in search of the perfect argyle/tweed/leather/cashmere combination.
For a small taste:
All photographs copyright Giovanni Giannoni for Women’s Wear Daily. DO NOT pin or copy these photos to Pinterest or to Tumblr from this site.
The Vintage Traveler 