Kristen Stewart stars at Chanel show

PARIS, France - Actor Kristen Stewart starred in a cinematic tribute by Chanel on the final day of Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. 

The show opened with a short film starring the Stewart in which she exits a Paris cinema after watching the 1961 classic "Last Year at Marienbad". 

The house's founder, Gabrielle Chanel -- better known as Coco Chanel -- made the costumes for the ultra-stylish New Wave film, and some of the looks were recreated on the catwalk, including the short haircuts and dishevelled boyish vibes, a black evening dress with a big bow across the chest and a long silver dress. 

Stewart was among the guests in the front row with Naomi Campbell, Halsey and South Korean star Soo Joo Park. 

"Of the people around me, (Stewart) is the closest to Gabrielle Chanel," artistic director Virginie Viard wrote in the show notes. "She understands Chanel, the clothing. And with her, it becomes even more modern."

The looks for the Spring-Summer 2023 collection were largely monochrome with lots of shining accessories and details, and ended with a selection of little black dresses. 

The iconic Chanel suit was presented in lots of variations -- with skirts, shorts and trousers, adorned with sequins, embroidery or feathers. 

Agence France Presse

Chanel attacked for felling trees for Paris fashion show

PARIS - Karl Lagerfeld created a spectacular mid-winter wood for his Paris catwalk Tuesday, but immediately fell foul of environmental activists who accused him of felling century-old trees for the show.

The veteran German creator turned the Grand Palais into a forest, with tonnes of dead leaves strewn on mirrored steps and nine tall mossy oaks planted down the middle of its vast nave. 

Trees had also been chopped down to make rows of benches for his guests, including Hollywood star Keira Knightley, British pop singer Lily Allen and former French first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy.

But the France Nature Environment group condemned the show as "heresy", accusing the luxury brand of trying to "give itself a more green image while completely divorced from the reality of protecting nature."

It said that whatever point Chanel was trying to prove with the show "had failed. Nature is not chopping down trees in a forest, putting them up for a few hours for a show and then throwing them into a skip." 

Chanel hit back strongly late Tuesday saying none of the oak and poplar trees it sourced from a forest in western France had been a century old.

"In buying the trees Chanel also promised to replant 100 new oak trees in the heart of the same forest," the brand added in a statement. 

Chanel raised eyebrows last year for a PVC-themed collection at a time when plastic pollution is hitting the headlines.

HUGE LIFE-LIKE FOREST 

Fashion critics had praised Tuesday's set, with Harper's Bazaar declaring that the "runway may be (Lagerfeld's) best yet". It loved the "life-like forest" he conjured up that "seemed to extend infinitely".

The 84-year-old creator had sent out a dark and classy collection Tuesday that eschewed the bubblegum girliness of Chanel's haute couture show in January.

The few pinks and electric blues he allowed to seep into the show were confined to handbags and the very Audrey Hepburn leather opera gloves worn with a series of black lace slip dresses.

The final Lagerfeld touch was that the gloves, like his own, were finger-less.

With his controversial wispy beard that so divided opinion at January's fuller now, the "Kaiser" took one of the briefest bows of his career after the show, allowing photographers little chance to check its progress.

Some critics had then found it shockingly "scruffy" for the world's pre-eminent style guru, who had not changed his look in two decades.

Lagerfeld began the show with a run of full-length black coats matched with sparkling gold tights, one coat feathered at the shoulders and cuffs which gave it more than a hint of French Empire dash.

BURNISHED GOLD 

Earthy, autumnal colors dominated, lit up with the glint of embroidered crystals and glitter, as he ran through the gamut of Chanel's classic tweedy looks -- city slickers bringing a touch of ever-so-tasteful glamor to the horsey country set.

The whole top of one particularly striking coat with burnt orange velvet collars and cuffs was covered in a fall of delicate applique dark green and burnished gold leaves.

This was not the gold of the nouveau riche but the distressed sheen of old money.

The veteran picked up and ran with its mottled glow in a line of darkly burnished gold and copper boots, suits and skirts. 

Critics and front-row stars including French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis and Iranian screen icon Golshifteh Farahani admired Lagerfeld's new big bags and accessories. They included a "log" handbag so close to the real thing you might risk losing it in the woods.

IMPECCABLE VUITTON 

Chanel's trademark long, pearl necklaces also made a reappearance, with former supermodel Cindy Crawford's 16-year-old daughter Kaia Gerber wearing earrings featuring the brand's double C logo.

South Korean star Hoyeon Jung and British model activist Adwoa Aboah also walked in the 80-look show.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Ghesquiere turned out another impeccable collection for Louis Vuitton in the day's other big star-studded event, which rounded off the month-long circus of autumn-winter fashion shows that also took in New York, London and Milan. 

With "The Greatest Showman" star Michele Williams in the front row with Irish actress Ruth Negga and supermodel Karlie Kloss, the French designer played with the idea of a modern comfortable corset, combining leather and shearling jackets often with knee-length wool, and shiny silk and leather skirts. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

China shoppers snap up Chanel bags as euro drops

SHANGHAI - Chinese shoppers are mobbing Chanel stores and counting their savings after the French fashion house slashed handbag prices in the world's biggest luxury market due to the slumping euro.

Long lines formed at Chanel stores in commercial hub Shanghai and shopping mecca Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, this week as word spread of deep discounts, according to media reports.

China is widely considered the world's biggest luxury market as a rising middle class and corrupt officials drive a shopping frenzy, but domestic prices are high due to hefty import taxes and huge retail mark-ups.

At one branch of Chanel in Shanghai, dozens waited anxiously in line for their turn, fearing the shelves might be stripped bare before a shop assistant could escort each person one-by-one into the tightly guarded store.

Miao Sijia, a well-dressed woman in her 20s who said she does not work, rushed 50 kilometres from a nearby city to buy a limited-edition, gold-coloured 2.55 bag for a discounted 19,700 yuan ($3,200).

"I rushed from Kunshan to buy a Chanel bag after a store clerk told me they were making a special price adjustment," Miao, a VIP customer of the store, told AFP.





Chanel said it was harmonising the prices of its products around the world, including the 2.55, 11.12 and Boy bag collections, but did not specify the size of the discounts in China, or price rises in the eurozone.

According to China-based luxury publisher the Hurun Report, Chanel is considered the second best brand for gifting to women, behind Apple but ahead of French fashion compatriot Louis Vuitton.

White collar worker Wang Lei, also in her 20s, gave up 5,500 yuan ($894) of her salary to buy a Cambon purse but marvelled at the 21 percent discount. "It was almost 7,000 yuan ($1,138) before," she told AFP.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Before you buy a luxury bag, read this

MANILA, Philippines - It may be mind-boggling for some to discover a Chanel classic flap bag may cost around P150,000, or an Hermes Birkin bag is sold for more than P500,000.

Some women justify spending that much on a luxury bag, saying it's a "good" investment. But is it really?

On ANC's On The Money, blogger Ingrid Chua Go (thebaghagdiaries.com) said when buying luxury items such as designer bags you should buy it because you love it, not because you think it is an "investment."

"Just like in any investment, there's always a risk. When it comes to luxury items, these are things you buy because you like it," she said.

The risks include how often you use the item and how well you care for it.

If you consider it as an investment, Go said you should consider supply and demand. "A lot of people like Hermes Kelly, Birkin bags. They think 10 years down the road, I might be able to sell it for at least more than half of what I paid for," she said.

Go pointed out a classic Chanel flap bag cost about P27,000 back in the 1990s.

"With the peso devaluation and the increase in the cost of production, now it's about P150,000 for one Chanel bag," she said.

Depending on the condition of the bag, Go said one might be able to re-sell a 1990s Chanel bag for about P70,000 today.

Tips for buying 'investment' bags

Go shared some tips for women who are looking to buy "investment" bags.

 1. Find out how much money you have.

"Make sure the money you have is not for school or a necessity. Luxury versus necessity are two different things," she noted.

2. Look for iconic or classic bags.
"Although Chanel has produced a lot of different styles, the iconic bags of these brand houses, they've been there for quite some time. The Hermes Kelly has been there since the 1950s and nothing has changed with the style. A lot of the brands bank on the fact that the style has transcended trends," Go said.

She advised against spending too much on "trendy" bags, which would go out of style next year.

"Make sure it's a classic... Not a graffiti backpack. Go for something that is classy and feminine. Something you will use over time. At the end of the day, you have to know that the bag will travel with you," she said.

3. Do research on the bag you are interested in.

"When buying an expensive luxury bag, I recommend going through the history, the tradition of the brand and knowing it thoroughly before investing in it," Go said.

4. Beware of fraud.

Go noted there are many online scammers who would try to sell you fake bags.

5. Buy from the luxury brand's boutique.

"Don't scrimp. It's an investment," she added.

Reselling your bag

In the last few years, the resale market in the Philippines has grown significantly. Many Filipinas have started reselling their designer goods online.

"There is an over saturation in the market," Go noted.

Stiff competition in the resale market is driving down prices.

Go also said some bags, depending on the condition and market, cannot be resold.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com