Karl Lagerfeld conquered Rome with his gaggle of girls (Bella Hadid and Freja Beha Erichsen paraded down the runway) for the over-the-top Pre-Fall 2016 show. Bridgette Bardot beehives and smudgy kohl-rimmed eyes were post-modern film noir heroines meets adolescent Brooklyn hipsters.
There was something gloriously grungy at play here underneath the illusion of glamour. The Chanel woman of this season was chic, but disheveled. She was edgy, but refined. She was cool, but not pretentious. She was highbrow, but also lowbrow. Such is the magic of Chanel in Lagerfeld's hands - he manipulates contradictions and weaves a narrative so fantastical you wish you played a character in his lustrous world. This was one of my favorite collections Lagerfeld churned out of the fashun factory - another favorite is his Spring 2007 collection (remember those black sequin hot pants that were turning you on in every single flippin' fashion editorial for like 6 months!)
And because I made unashamed love to my MacBook Pro while clicking through this show, I played fairytale dress-up and Photoshopped my favorite Real Housewives of Beverly Hills into my favorite Chanel Pre-Fall looks. Anywhoozicles, my flavor flav flavorite looks from the show are below and trust when I tell yah, it was harder than a preteen browsing PornHub to pick these puppies out. Click on images to enlarge 'em:
