Karl Lagerfeld Sketches Chanel for Bio

Is there a bigger fan of Gabrielle Chanel than Karl Lagerfeld?  The atelier has millions of fans around the world.  Coco Chanel's story has been played out as a pop history fairy-tale in movies and books many times over.

British journalist Justine Picardie wrote a new biography of the designer that Mr. Lagerfeld liked so much that he contributed several illustrations for the new French edition.  The new tome will be feted at a cocktail bash/signing in the Galignani bookstore (Karl's fave) on the evening of March 24th.

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Chanel Onscreen...Again

A new film about Coco Chanel is being released this month. One of the many that have found inspiration in designers.

“Chanel Coco & Igor Stravinsky“focuses on the brief affair between the designer and married composer. Karl Lagerfeld is not a fan. Like many who worship at the altar of Chanel, he does not prefer to think of the pioneering designer in an unflattering light. She may be portrayed as cold and calculated at times, but ambition and selfishness is still human.

This film follows in the footsteps of last year’s ”Coco Avant Chanel”, the film follows ingénue Gabrielle from her humble beginnings post-orphanage to the beginnings of fashion success. Again, it shows her rise with the help of her lovers.

Shirley Maclaine earned an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Chanel in her later years, with a romanticized younger version in the television movie of 2008. “Chanel Solitaire” was a 1981 film based on a biography by Claude Delay. Katherine Hepburn starred in the one Broadway musical version of her life.

Coco Chanel herself made contributions to film in the form of costume design. She even collaborated with Pablo Picasso on a film.

Photos by Sony Picture Classics and Lifetime Network

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Phantom of the Runway – Andre Leon Talley The Next Fashionista on Broadway?

Vogue Editor, Andre Leon Talley made press last week after an FIT lecture, when he noted he was planning a stint on Broadway. While some of the media snickered, those in the know see him as following a stylish theater tradition. His own one-time mentor, Diana Vreeland was the subject of a long-running play, Full Gallop .

Isaac Mizrahi had a popular one man show off-Broadway where he detailed his experiences at Calvin Klein, his own design career and handed out his own homemade treats to the audience.

Currently onstage is The Temperamentals, the story of edgy designer of the 1960’s Rudy Gernreich.     The plot focuses on the gay activist and stars Michael Urie of TV’s Ugly Betty.

Of course, the iconic Coco Chanel was immortalized in the Broadway show “Coco” in 1969. The show starred Katherine Hepburn in her one and only theater musical.

photo from onsugar

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Monster Chic - Big & Furry Makes the Cut?

For anyone who observed the runway offerings for Fall 2010, you probably noticed that fur was making a comeback. At first, I was excited that it signaled a return to luxury. Now, as I look over the past year, I realize that it has less to do with decadence, but an excuse to be a beastly ogre.

While I expected movies like Young Victoria and Coco Before Chanel from 2009 to inspire fashion trends for this year, I never expected Shrek and Where the Wild Things Are to make the cut. The cast of the Green monster movie starred in a photo spread for VMAN magazine. Downtown chic boutique Opening Ceremony offered an entire collection around the wild ones. In Paris, right there on Chanel's icy catwalk, was the Abonimable snowman. I suppose when you are over-sized and covered in hair, it hides all sins...

That's just what every girl needs...To have her boyfriend's Star Wars Wookie fantasies validated.

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