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Steamy Singapore. What better site for a Chanel show given the tropical climate and its enthusiastic shoppers?
At last night’s Chanel Cruise 2013 show, the thatched huts of an old nutmeg plantation offered a colonial setting along with caviar canapés, aged cheeses and iberico ham pulled right off the bone.
Dakota Fanning, Carine Roitfeld and Andre Leon Talley were among the few Western guests, the scene otherwise dominated by Singapore gals who not only love their Chanel, they love it from pearl-drop earrings to flatform sneaker. There were two women in the same striped outfit Lana Del Rey wears in FASHION’s Summer issue, though one was jacketless. I suspect she arrived to find the other guest in the identical look and quickly doffed the jacket to avoid looking like twins.
The cruise collection itself should have lots to please. The knit tunics, longer jackets and wide-leg trousers had an easy seaside vibe that harkened back to Chanel’s Deauville days (it’s the 100th anniversary of Coco Chanel’s store opening there). There were swimsuits with long cover-ups, high-waisted denims with a whiskered effect down the legs and lots of lace blouses to wear them with, and cricket sweaters for girls and guys. There were audible gasps for the jeweled shoulder pieces to layer over dresses or jackets. And some of the collection had a raw refinement, like white feathers that seemed brushed with black paint, and an ikat-type textile used for a pant sported by Stella Tennant.
“Karl showed me a photo from here from 100 years ago of a fisherman wearing the traditional garb, and of course, those traditional outfits are always so elegant and practical.” In fact, she was so smitten by the piece, “I’d like to wear it back on the plane to Scotland.”
But she’ll have to wait. This collection doesn’t hit stores till later in the fall.
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