Saab Story

Sob away my friends. With tears of joy, of course. The Brasch is taking Paris by storm, walking for both Elie Saab and Valentino on Wednesday, having two looks in each show. I apologize for the delay in posting these... My Internet connection has been finicky the last few days! But I'm back now, so let's start with Elie Saab:

Great to see Caroline repeating at Saab. I wasn't sure she would, but I was happy to see they booked her again this season. The elegance of the label is always a treat to see. No doubt Hollywood had their eyes on this show in particular, especially with the Oscars coming up. As for Caroline's looks, can anyone else see Maggie Gyllenhaal arriving in number 1? Doubtless, she wouldn't look as stunning as The Brasch, but there are few that would. Gorgeous work from Elie Saab, as always.

Valentino was something we expected, but it takes nothing away from its materialization. I was hoping for an opening or closing look, but the honour was bestowed instead upon Caroline's campaign buddies, Freja and Julia.

All in all, it was a very successful Couture season for Caroline, walking in four shows with a total of seven looks! Very impressive indeed. There's also been scans released recently of Caroline on the cover of Vogue Nippon's Beauty supplement. I'll be covering this in my next post, but until I get around to it, please enjoy!  

Photos courtesy of vogue.fr and vogue.it

The Softer Side Of Chanel

Caroline walked for Chanel today with two looks, both of similar style (I daresay she's rocking the same pair of pants in both... Are we thinking along the lines of a piece that goes with everything, or were things a little rushed backstage?).

Showing at a more modest venue than we are used to for Chanel (though it seems we should be getting used to it, smaller venues appear to be #trending with Karl Lagerfeld in recent years), the greatest fashion house of them all sent the models down the runway with characteristic grace in garments of like style but softer tones as compared to the Spring/Summer collection. It was all very Chanel, but at the same time, very much a contemporary take on her stereotype. I loved the sash detail on Caroline's second outfit: it added a sort of whimsical touch to the outfit, which otherwise might have seemed a more on the futuristic side. Just a small thing, but for me it made a world of difference.

I also though the chokers used were rather interesting, for much the same reason. They recalled for me a Victorian age of style (Chanel herself was of course born in the tail end of this period, and grew up with this style, indeed, she helped usher the style out), where women's clothes were more often than not very restricting of movement, and manners were extremely important. The choker, being here fastened behind the head (it seems to be attached to a bun beneath the hair, actually) unnaturally restricts the models from turning their heads without breaking the ribbon, which had me thinking of the blinders we put on horses, forcing them to look straight ahead. It also appears to stop them from drooping their heads and thus stand straight and tall.

I'm curious as to why the chokers have been used? Their very function seems to be contradictory of precisely what Chanel stands for (at least in my mind). Yes, you must be polite and proper and all that, but for me, Chanel has always been about a rebellion against that Victorian era of fashion, allowing women to free themselves from inhibitions, whether that be in relation to their corsets or the hiding of their opinions. So you see, the choker addition almost seems a contradiction?

Anyway, I am glad to see Caroline at Chanel yet again. I was also pleased with the appearances of fellow Scandinavians Dorothea Barth Jorgensen and Sara Blomqvist (no relation to this Blomqvist, I pinky swear). I've been commenting on how I wish Caroline got more print work, but those two really should have more projects themselves. Sara especially: I don't think I've seen the Queen of London take a bad picture yet!

Valentino and (hopefully) Elie Saab tomorrow! Who knows, we might be in for some more surprises!

Photos courtesy of style.com and nowfashion.com

All The Models To The Floor Right Now

Well, I must admit that I was a little bewildered seeing Caroline walking in the Christian Dior Haute Couture show yesterday. I was expecting Chanel today, for sure, but Dior was a pleasant surprise. She had one look in a collection of thirty-two, one that recalled a certain Disney Princess for me... Beauty and The Brasch, anyone?

As I said, I was surprised with Caroline's appearance, but I suppose I should not have been. After all, she did  walk for the Spring/Summer 2011 show, and had one of the best show seasons of any just the past fall, so seriously: who wouldn't want her walking for them? 

Regardless, I'm happy to see she's gotten off to a great start for Haute Couture, and a great start for fashion weeks in general, having walked Hugo last week, Dior yesterday, and Chanel today (more to come on that later...). That said, I hope the girl has set aside a good long break for the summer... Lord knows she'll need it, with the way things are shaping up!

Photos courtesy of style.com

Like A Boss

Excuse me while I commend myself on excellent foresight: the Brasch did a turn for Hugo Boss today, marking her first appearance in Berlin for the F/W 2011 season! I'm still waiting on some good shots, but based on the screen cast, she had two looks, and was second out of the gate after Freja! While we're waiting, here's the runway video; Caroline appears at 1:37, 9:21, and 13:58:

I'm very happy that the Brasch has finally popped up in Berlin: I was beginning to wonder if she ever would! It was great that she was at Hugo, which is basically the biggest show of Berlin Fashion Week each season, drawing major crowds, not just from the fashion world, but also droves of celebrities. I don't trust to hope that a campaign will come out of this (I think Freja has this one in the bag to be honest, opened and closed... Plus, when was the last time she did Berlin, anyway?), but I'm happy to see her make an appearance anyway. 

I'm not really sure if we will see Caroline anywhere else in Germany this week, though as I said earlier, I would not be surprised with a turn or two for Bllack Noir tomorrow. But don't think that signals the coming of some quiet times: haute couture begins on Monday in Paris, and she will undoubtedly be walking for Chanel on Tuesday and Valentino on Wednesday. She may even show up for a repeat performance at Elie Saab. You really can't tell the specifics sometimes, but one thing's for sure: we're in for some busy times.

EDIT: We have pictures for Hugo Boss now, I've ignorantly neglected my "refresh" button... here you go, folks!

    

    

Photos courtesy of elle, via tFS user AriLove

La Bête Noir

I'm running out of ways to use "black" in post titles, so I guess that signals a trend: Caroline has been popping up with a lot of brands heavily associated with the colour. Add to the list her campaign with Denmark's Noir. For the F/W 2010 season, she featured for Noir's subsidiary, Bllack Noir. I've got two HQs here courtesy of that darling *Bianca* at tFS; hopefully more will be on the way!

 

I have to say, I'm a fan of Noir (and Bllack Noir), and I'm a fan of these pictures. The brand is known for an edgy, rocker femininity, and while these shots definitely carry that feel, there's also a sort of ethereal quality added by the powdered figure and clothing, and the way it hangs suspended in the air as well. There is a simply beauty, but there is also an underlying complex artistry that has me thinking of Vogue Italia right now. There's also elements of French aristocracy here, with hair styled a la Marie Antoinette (though, perhaps a bit more functionally so).

I am pleased that Caroline is continuing her partnership with the brand. It's great getting international campaigns like Marc Jacobs and Valentino, but there's a certain satisfaction that comes with success back home as well. Plus, Denmark and Sweden are fast becoming popular fashion destinations, not just for brands like Acne and Malene Birger, but also just because of the way the Scandinavians put outfits together (note the popularity of copenhagenstreetstyle.dk and stockholmstreetstyle.feber.se... RESPECT!). It would be wise to maintain and develop bonds with northern brands.

But speaking of internationalism...

I've not seen the Brasch in Berlin just yet. I've been peering at each look, hoping to spot her, but she remains elusive... I imagine that she will be showing up at Bllack Noir (which is the last show in Berlin) but for the moment, I'm a bit uncertain. I've heard rumours about Freja at Hugo, so I wonder if she'll pop up there with her fellow Dane and Miss Karolina? More on that as it comes!

Black Brasch Burberry

Add another campaign to the list for S/S 2011, Caroline features for Burberry's Black Label (the Japanese extension of the label) with a male model who I am incapable of identifying at the present time... Anyone have a name for the pretty boy? Anyway, I'm still waiting on more details about this campaign (e.g., photographer), but the campaign has just been released on the label's official website, so I figured I'd post them, seeing as many will consider those details peripheral anyway.

Right, so the Brasch is looking very tough and edgy here, as I suppose is only to be expected from Burberry these days (remember Christopher Bailey's motocross-inspired S/S 2011 collection in London?). Nothing much to say about these really, Burberry's ads always look the same to me, and this one is no different. So I suppose that means Caroline fulfilled the brief perfectly.

The campaign for the Men's F/W 2010 collection with Charlie France and Julia Nobis also had a little backstage video... I'll keep my eye on the site, and if a video is released for this shoot, I'll post it as soon as possible!

Photos courtesy of burberry-blacklabel.com

She's A One Horse Open Sleigh...

... and you can bet she's dashing. All the freaking way. Okay, taking care of business; Caroline showed for Giambattista Valli's Pre-Fall 2011 collection along with fellow catwalkers Stella Maxwell and Jenny Sinkaberg on Tuesday. She had a total of eight looks in the 56-look show; praise the LORD, she needed a break at the rate she's been dominating the pre-fall season.

I'm pretty well wiped at this point, and I've quite run out of words for the moment. Something I really liked about Valli's collection was the use of the colour red. He placed it ever so perfectly, running it through the looks here and there, accentuating a set of looks that would else have been not but black and white. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy neutrals as much as the next Scandinavian, but it never hurts to throw in a sudden splash of colour to really get the blood running to the head.

My only peeve about what's been done here is that it looks much more 'holiday' than 'pre-fall' to me. I don't think I'd necessarily be of the same opinion if I saw someone trekking down Madison Avenue in one of these looks, but as a set, the collection screams Christmas. But whatever, as you were.

Photos courtesy of style.com

Why So Serious?

Caroline had the honour of presenting all 31 looks in Valentino's Pre-Fall 2011 collection on January 11th. And really, who's surprised at this bit of news? It seems to me that the Parisian fashion house is really milking her for all she's worth at the moment, and to be honest, I don't much mind. Careful looking at these folks, the Brasch has her death stare on.

  

 

I've commented on Caroline's posing in a few of my recent posts, but where this connection is growing ever stronger before my waking eyes (I use that 'waking' quite seriously; no rest here, even for the weary), I think it's past time I comment on the clothes, or shall we say fashion, she is presenting.

I've been scanning through various blogs, forums, etc. and have picked up on a general feeling people seem to have regarding Valentino's recent collections, and I regret that it is not overly positive. The public seems to have decided that Valentino has sold out under Piccioli and Chiuri. The partnering with The Gap did little to instill confidence in what is apparently an historically fundamental fashion house rapidly falling into disfavour, despite extremely successful previous and current collaborations between other major fashion houses and "fast fashion" labels like H&M and Target.

I am not overly sure how to comment on this. To be sure, it is incredibly hard to imagine anyone ever being able to match the talents and appeal of a couturier in his/her own house. With the death of Alexander McQueen almost a year ago, I was one of tens of hundreds of thousands of fans and appreciators mourning the lost of one of the greatest designers in recent memory. The question of what might have become of his avant garde house had he remained with us was one that everyone of this mind contemplated, and then the new, perhaps more terrifying inquiry arose: Who will take his place?

When Sarah Burton took the reigns, many wondered if she would truly be up to the task. As it turned out, she was more than prepared to continue the McQueen legacy, and turned out a beautiful collection the past fall that sent critics raving and everyone else sighing with relief. Perhaps we should never have been so worried in the first place, Burton was McQueen's right hand girl for 14 years, and she was already the head of design in the label's womenswear division anyway. It should have been no great surprise at all that she was completely brilliant.

In the case of the Valentino brand, we have a different situation. After the perceived disaster that we - the overriding pinnacle of fashion intellectuals, that is - also call Alessandra Facchinetti, the house was taken over by its two head accessory designers. (I think it is also important to note that Mr Valentino, though retired, is still very much alive.) Piccioli and Chiuri have taken all of the elements of the original Valentino collections and reimagined them in such a way that they can be marketed to a new, younger generation than was previously done. We still have the ruffles (some think a bit too much of those frilly things), the roses, and on the rare occasion, hints of that signature Valentino red, but people are not quite enamoured with the younger direction of the house.

Karl Lagerfeld was certainly successful in achieving this feat at Chanel, but when the coming of said Messiah was nigh on 10 years after the death of Chanel herself. As a result, the original designer whom everyone knew and loved so well was not present to offer her opinions on his interpretations of the house, nor was she still a physical being around which ardent supporters could rally under the pretense of protecting a legacy. Chanel was gone, and someone had to continue making the clothes. Why should it not have been Karl Lagerfeld?

At Valentino therefore, I see it as an issue that the man himself is still very much in the public eye. So long as this is true, people are not only given hope that he might return, but they are witness to his opinions (whether spoken, emoted, or conspiratorially implied by consumers), and thus are unwilling to place any bets on the hats that have been thrown in the ring, metaphorically speaking. Setting aside the issue of making stunning and elegant clothing, the house of Valentino needs to be allowed to move on into the new generation. It's father need not be dead and gone, but he must at least be gone before the world can accept new leadership at such a prestigious label.

So my word to all the criticisms laid on Piccioli and Chiuri: give the kids a chance! That which they have undertaken is no small responsibility, and in order for them to grow as designers, and for the label to complete a transition both regrettable and exciting at once (for this is how I would describe such a replacement of the old with the new), there must be support, or at least constructive criticism leveled at them. No more of these slights aimed at collaborations and changes that by their very design are of evolutionary significance. Be happy that Valentino's legacy continues to live on, if changed.

Photos courtesy of style.com