Catwalk Catchup: PFW Chanel Spring/Summer 2012

No Fashion Week review would be complete without mentioning Chanel. Their Spring/Summer 2012 offering at Paris Fashion Week was a sea (literally) of magic! It was an underwater fantasy complete with the hottest models in the biz and one Miss Florence Welch singing to the crowd from a shell…true story. 

 

Karl Lagerfeld was keen to mix it up a little this season, opting to step outside the box and create a collection that wasn't "very Chanel". Why? Because Kaiser Karl so rightly mentioned that Chanel's style is being done by many other designers.

What do you think?

Daily Style Crush: Alexa Chung in Mary Katrantzou

I'm not Alexa Chung's biggest fan (nothing personal), but I can't deny that the girl has style - lots of it, actually. This was made very apparent when she attended the launch of Vogue Eyewear's second annual capsule collection in NYC in a cute oriental dress. The 'Lily Pond' dress in question is by British designer Mary Katrantzou, so we're doubly pleased Miss Chung stepped out in it - British pride and all that jazz. Not everyone could pull it off but we think she did it effortlessly, so kudos to her! Nice touch on the bag too, you can never really go wrong with a touch of quilted Chanel!

Theatre As You've Never Seen it, Courtesy of Chanel

Chanel know a thing or two when it comes to nail polishes - the words "rouge noir" prove that, as the shade is one mighty best seller. They've launched a bend new capsule collection of nail polishes and have decided to promote it in a quirky, unique and ultra glamorous way. So make sure you check out the video above, which is a performance of "Chanel's Shade Parade" - a theatre show full of dancing fingers. Sounds kind of weird but trust us, it's actually brilliant. Technically brilliant and artistically brilliant - what more could you want?

Keira Knightley covers Flaunt magazine

We think this is an outfit even Barbie herself would be proud of strutting her stuff in - so much pink and we love it - even if brights weren't in this season, we would still be lusting after the pinkness - although perhaps a tad more secretly. 

It's nice to see Keira Knightley on the more experimental end of fashion. She usually does demure, elegant and classy, and she does it brilliantly - as every lady of Chanel should - but we like seeing this new side to her as well.

Barbara Palvin for Chanel Le Blanc

What an angelic, pure campaign! Perfectly fitting for the product as well - beautiful!

Coco Chanel’s life is now a musical

Our two favourite things – fashion and musicals – combined. The life story of Coco Chanel has been turned into a musical, and is being shown at Sadler’s Wells in London until 12 June. The musical is a remake of the Broadway original which famously starred Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers as the leads. Olivier Award winning Sara Kestelman has some large shoes to fill, but no one for one second doubted that she wouldn’t be up to it.

Check out the official Sadler’s Wells website for more info and to book tickets (which we assume will sell out pretty quickly.) Ticket prices start from £22.

Daily Style Crush: Blake Lively

Yesterday, we brought you some of out favourite catwalk looks from the Chanel Resort 2012 collection, and told you some of the hottest celebs turned up to support Karl Lagerfeld in person in some of Chanel's greatest designs. Blake Lively was just one of Hollywood's finest to witness the collection live, and looked sensational dressed head to toe in Chanel. What a beauty.

Image courtesy of Dominique Charriau/Getty

Catwalk Catch-up: Chanel Resort 2012

Where do we start? What a fabulous collection; and it was 100% well worth the wait. Karl Lagerfeld's latest show took place on the glamorous French Riviera yesterday, with all the hottest Chanel celeb-faves in attendance. Blake Lively and Rachel Bilson, two of Uncle Karl's leading ladies of the moment were there showing their support, and showcasing some gorgeous Chanel looks of their very own. So many of the hottest models were walking too; Abbey Lee Kershaw, Karlie Kloss, Natasha Poly (to name but a few...)

There were so many memorable looks from the collection, but the ones that stood out the most were the ones that reminded the audience of a certain Royal Wedding. Do you think Her Majesty the Queen took styling tips from Uncle Karl prior to the big day, or was it the other way round? Either way, the show opened with some lovely yellow numbers which were reminiscent of the Queen's wedding outfit. But Her Majesty's look wasn't the only one to take inspiration from the collection. The bridalwear had more than a few hints of some of the aforementioned wedding attire displayed. The slimline, straight cut dresses were very Pippa Middleton, whilst the lace was of course reminiscent of Kate Middleton's gorgeous dress. 

But we are not for one second insinuating that Karl Lagerfeld has drawn inspiration from other designers and has left the signature Chanel style off the latest runway. The rest of the collection screamed classic Chanel - in fact we think the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may have postponed their honeymoon just so they could pack some last-minute Chanel gear in their suitcases. No? Either way, the collection does seem fit for a princess, Duchess or anyone that exudes style. There were hints of vintage, forties inspired pieces in the collection, and the holiday-wear is exceptional - who wouldn't love to rock up on a beach wearing the latest and greatest Chanel Resort? 

We've managed to pick a few favourites from the collection, but make sure to check out style.com for the whole collection - it's definitely worth it.

See a preview of Karl Lagerfeld's The Tale of a Fairy

And finally, before we forget, make sure you head to the official Chanel website on Tuesday at 9am to see Karl Lagerfeld's brand new film (you can see a preview that Chanel News teased us with above.) The 30 minute film is entitled The Tale of a Fairy, and features all the Chanel favourites, including Lagerfeld muse Baptise Giabiconi, as well as Freja Beha Erichsen, Anna Mouglalis and other friends and ambassadors of the House of Chanel.

Here is how Karl Lagerfeld himself described the film: “It is a movie about an ill-advised use of money which begins with violence and ends with feeling” 

It will be screened for the first time on Monday at the Hotel du Cap Eden Rose at the Cap d'Antibes and then on the Chanel website for everyone to see on Tuesday. 

Abbey Lee Kershaw in Numero

The 123rd issue of Numero features this fantastic shoot Tom Munro did with Abbey Lee Kershaw.

Apart from reiterating the fact that Miss Kershaw is quite the stunner, we think this shoot tries to convey the message that you can still look fabulous while working out. You may not be draped in Chanel, Celine or Lanvin like Abbey is, but you could still give it a pretty good go. That's what we read as the moral of this story. Or it could be something to do with the Olympics ? Either way - fabulous! 

Chanel Eyewear Spring 2011

Behold, two images from the advertising campaign for Chanel Eyewear Spring/Summer 2011, photographed by Mr Chanel himself,  Karl Lagerfeld. Elisa Sednaoui reprises her role as the face of the campaign, and is showing off two stunning frames. We can't wait to see the rest of the collection and more campaign images. 

Keira Knightley for Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

Miss Knightley never disappoints; the newest campaign photographed by Mario Testino is no exception. Flawless, and a wonderful representation of pure English rose beauty. 

Kate Moss covers Vogue Japan

Loving Kate Moss's Vogue Japan cover. Our British beauty is wearing a gorgeous dress from the Chanel Spring/Summer 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection - such a stand-out piece done justice by Miss Moss. 

Keira Knightley's Coco Mademoiselle video

You may have seen the video already, but we found this behind-the-scenes video at Vogue and just had to share. The song in the advert may sing "this is a man's world" but all we seem to be focusing on is how breathtaking the main woman in the video is. Just another British woman we are so proud to call one of our own!

Top 5 Lipsticks for Kissing Friday

As it's Kissing Friday, we decided to compile  list of what we think the best lipsticks and colours are, to give you luscious, full, juicy and utterly kissable lips. 

Our Top 5 is:

Mac: Mac lipstick comes in virtually any colour you can think of, but classic red is a perfect choice for smooching. 

Dior Addict: Kate Moss has recently fronted a campaign for Dior Addict, but we've always been a little bit in love with their lipsticks from the word 'go'. Sketch pink is a bright, summery alternative to the classic red, and is certainly more youthful. 

Barry M: How on earth did anyone live without the Barry M range? Orange is the colour of the season, and contrary to what many people may think, it's a shade that suits a wide range of skin tones. And it certainly makes one heck of a statement. 

Chanel: Again, Chanel have never disappointed with their extensive range of lipsticks. Dark lips are still all the rage; think Marina Diamandis and Jessie J - how much more contemporary and stylish can you get?

Yves Saint Laurent: YSL seem to excel in more than one field of cosmetics, and lipsticks is just one of them. This is a personal favourite colour of mine; not too out-there for everyday wear and not too generic either. It glides on and moisturises lips and isn't a season specific colour, meaning you can have a precious pink pout all year round. Plus, the casing is beautiful!

Blake Lively for Chanel Mademoiselle Handbags – parts 2 and 3

Oh, how Chanel love to tease us with the gradual release of campaign pictures.

Check out the latest two to be released from the Chanel vault.

There were some criticisms floating around regarding Miss Lively’s first picture, with the consensus being that her beauty wasn’t as apparent and on show as it should have been. We however, think it was a superb pic to get the Chanel ball rolling; very bold and daring, with a little hint of Black Swan.

But, no one can accuse the newest pictures from hiding her face or indeed her beauty. We hope these will go down better, as we can’t fault them.

Flawless!

Catwalk catch-up: Chanel A/W 2011 RTW

Dark and sensual; that was the theme that Karl Lagerfeld ran with for the latest Chanel catwalk outing. The volcano which graced the runway was also a haunting touch which encapsulated the aura of the collection spectacularly. The show was chilling enough from the pictures, we can only imagine that sitting Front Row would have heightened the chill-factor even more. We would happily give a right arm to have witnessed the live action though. 

Still, it's nice to see Lagerfeld going with the theme of winter, which many designers have dismissed this season. Chanel went with the theme of ice last year which also screamed winter, but so did the volcano - it was anything but smoking hot. Grunge, oversized, man-size and neo-medieval are all words which complement the collection. The palette was predominantly dark and smokey, but were finely crafted and brilliantly put together.

Our one and only criticism? We absolutely love how some heels are being replaced with biker boots, but they are hugely disproportionate in relation to the legs of some of the models - perhaps skinny jeans and grunge boots aren't the best option when you have the figure of a runway model. Still, if we had the height of runway models, the inability to wear oversized boots wouldn't be the end of our world. 

Thank you uncle Karl for another fabulous collection; they just keep getting better!

Lily Allen will marry in Chanel

It seems that Lily Allen won’t be one of the celebs teasing us with wedding dress designer speculation; according to WWD, she got straight down to business and already decided that she will be wearing Chanel down the aisle. She was spotted at Chanel HQ yesterday waiting patiently for a fitting.

Miss Allen is a Chanel ambassador, who is seldom seen without a Chanel accessory; she was appointed as the face of Chanel’s Coco Cocoon handbag line by Karl Lagerfeld, and it’s clear to see the two have maintained their friendship ever since.

If only we were bosom buds with Uncle Karl…

Blake Lively's campaign for Chanel Mademoiselle Handbags

And from one Gossip Girl to another…

Miss Lively certainly didn't disappoint..the ad campaign was well worth the wait. Both bag and model are utterly gorgeous. More please!