Chanel Resort: Lagerfeld in a Candy Store

By Karl Treacy
Fashion Wire Daily

Fashion Wire Daily Paris May 21, 2003 - Like a kid in a candy store, or an ice cream parlor to be exact, Karl Lagerfeld whipped up a light and sugary resort collection for Chanel. Maybe the whippet-thin designer -- bedecked this afternoon in a lot of diamante -- was thinking about the things he's not allowed to eat any more. And those present at the show in La Suite, the restaurant and club on avenue George V, were following his lead -- only the very few were brave enough to nibble on the forbidden dessert delights on the tables. But Lagerfeld wasn't thinking glutinous; he was thinking sherbet - colorful, puff-light and whimsical. Traditional suits in checked boucle wool were softened as chiffon linings spilled out and trompe l'oeil inverted skirt pleats flashed open revealing chiffon inside. It wasn't new ground for Lagerfeld but he's been working on it and making it even airier. He subverted the theme with tweed panels on a pleated georgette skirt or a black satin dress appliqued with ice cream cone prints and star cutouts edged with sequins. Those stars and cones were everywhere -- from dresses, to separates, to hats, to sparkly pins, to high heels with colorful ribbon ties. In a world where sex sells, there was an innocent note of childishness beneath this collection, not only with the profusion of ice cream flavors, but also in knitted bonbons as trim and featherweight skullcaps delicate as fairy wings worn by smiling models. But try as he may, Lagerfeld still can't cover the fact that he can cut a stunningly great jacket, a tucked cocktail dress or a languidly ruched silk sheath with ease.