Chic Happens

Louis Vuitton is known for taking risks when they merge fashion and art. Under Marc Jacobs the storied fashion house teamed up with artist Takashi Murakami for the Monogram Multicolore collection and all of those smiling cherry blossoms. 

Stephen Sprouse sprayed graffiti all over their leather goods and then all we saw were spots when Yayoi Kusama dotted LV with her work.

But these collaborations made sense. They joined the iconic monogram with the artist’s own ideas. Their new collection: The Masters is just…odd.  

LV let pop artist Jeff Koons put some of the world’s most renowned artwork ON their leather goods. Jean-Honore Fragonard’s Girl with a Dog, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Vincent Van Gogh’s Wheat Field with Cypresses and Peter Paul Ruben’s The Tiger Hunt.

Koons added the artist’s names in block gold lettering and put his initials in one corner, LV in the other. 

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

There are 51 pieces in the collection including scarves, key chains, small leather goods. handbags and larger leather pieces.

But…..why?

Why take another artist’s work, slap it on handbags and call it yours? For a company that spends millions fighting counterfeiters for doing the same thing, it just doesn’t make sense.

The pieces look like cheap fakes or a tote you’d buy at a museum store only to throw away a few years later when you realize you never used it. 

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

The New York Times did a not so nice review on the latest LV collab, saying: “The collection elicits this response: You’ve got to be kidding.”

See for yourself and let me know…would you buy one of these? Or do you think the artwork should’ve stayed in the museums?

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

Courtesy: Louis Vuitton

#####

Don’t Let Chic Happen without YOU!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Happens/140944165939514 
Twitter: chichappens5 https://twitter.com/chichappens
Instagram: @chichappensboston https://instagram.com/chichappensboston/

A Massachusetts swimwear designer made a huge splash after writing insults on In Style magazine’s Instagram account because of their choice for the May cover girl, Amy Schumer.

Schumer is stunning a white Ralph Lauren one-piece. But Dana Duggan of South Shore Swimwear in Cohasset, Massachusetts didn’t think so. She posted this comment to the magazine’s Instagram account:

“Come on now! You could not find anyone better for this cover? Not everyone should be in a swimsuit.”  

After the designer got some serious backlash from people sticking up for Schumer, she took time out of her busy schedule to speak to the Huffington Post. She had an opinion about that publication too.  She requested they include another one of her opinions in the piece: “The Huffington Post is one of the biggest pieces of crap publications out there”.  Here are more of her encouraging words:

“It’s called Freedom of Speech,” she said. ” I can have my opinion and you can have yours. I’m tired of the media and publications trying to push the FAT agenda. It’s not healthy and it’s not pretty. What is wrong with featuring healthy and fit cover models?” She also said Schumer looked like “a pig.”

And it just keeps going. Duggan told Yahoo Style’s Kristine Solomon:

“I’m not fat-shaming anyone. I’m not anti-inclusivity or anti-plus size. All I said was not everyone should be in a swimsuit on the cover of a magazine. I don’t think it was an attractive photo”…

Duggan then went on to say she wears a size 14 “and I’m not on the cover of a beauty magazine.”

Images of Dugan in her studio

No Ms Duggan, you are not. And as far as her business is concerned, I don’t know why anyone would buy a swimsuit from her. Although it’s a bit difficult to get in touch with her now that all of her social media accounts were made private. That’s a shame since her business is “by appointment only” according to a 2012 article in the Patriot Ledger, her local newspaper. So I guess for now, her business is on the rocks. Duggan told The Huffington Post: “I appreciate the free press.” But sometimes it backfires and that 15 minutes of fame just isn’t worth it. Duggan has since posted this on one of her social media accounts: 

#####

Don’t Let Chic Happen without YOU!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Happens/140944165939514 

Twitter: chichappens5 https://twitter.com/chichappens

Instagram: @chichappensboston https://instagram.com/chichappensboston/

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

The Chanel Haute Couture shows are always some of my favorites. Looking at pieces that took couturiers hours to make by hand is just amazing. I can barely sew on a button. 

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

Couture is a time honored tradition in Paris. Only the best fashion houses (14 to be exact) are granted permission by the French Ministry of Industry to show during this week and label their designs as Couture. 
For Spring 2017, Lagerfeld literally reflected on past designs from Chanel with details that made them current and oh so stunning. He brought the power suit back. This time in tweed with a matching hat and pearl ankle bracelet.  They were reminiscent of First Lady Jackie Kennedy and her prim and proper suits and pill box hats.

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

Models draped in dresses adorned with feathers floated around the runway and were reflected in the mirrors that surrounded it.

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

Perhaps the mirrors were an homage to the staircase from Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon atelier. The staircase leads upstairs to the rooms where the collections are created. 

Mademoiselle Chanel would sit on the fifth stair from the top and watch the shows. But no matter where you sat for this show, you had a perfect view. 

Photos Courtesy of Chanel

Photos Courtesy of Chanel

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

Photo Courtesy of Chanel

See the full Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2017 show here: YdHGSJk5u3VyQ2AfqGn2gEk9n49B1cSEaAq3N8P8HAQ

#####

Don’t Let Chic Happen without YOU!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Happens/140944165939514

Twitter: chichappens5 https://twitter.com/chichappens

Instagram: @chichappensboston https://instagram.com/chichappensboston/

Kate Middleton’s fashion sense always takes center stage. We see her in luxury designers such as Alexander McQueen, Carlolina Herrera and Dolce and Gabbana. She also wears styles from stores the rest of us shop in such as the Gap and Top Shop.

But for the first time, the Future Queen of England wore a dress from Kate Spade. And with her appearance, everything was suddenly coming up roses. Princess Kate wowed in this Kate Spade Encore Rose Chiffon Fit and Flare Dress from the Fall 2016 collection. It’s hard to believe she’s never worn anything from Kate Spade before now. Although after today, I’m sure the designer’s dramatic creations will make an encore appearance in Kate’s wardrobe.

And I just checked…I’ve seen it in the store and it’s still available on the website.

For now.

First four photos courtesy of Getty Last photo is from KateSpade.com

Don’t Let Chic Happen without YOU!

Facebook: Chic Happens  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Happens/140944165939514

Twitter: chichappens5  https://twitter.com/chichappens5

Instagram: @chichappensboston  https://instagram.com/chichappensboston/

The doorman held the large glass door open and greeted me as I stepped inside. 

“Bonjour. Merci mon ami,” I said as I walked into the first floor of Boston’s Chanel flagship store. 

Everything hit me at once.

The beautiful handbags in front of me, the dazzling jewelry. Where do I start?  

I want it all!

This was just the first floor.

Everything reminded me of Mademoiselle Chanel. This was her world. recreated inside the Boston flagship store on Newbury Street. Long strands of faux pearls dangled from the ceiling in a beautiful display of one of Chanel’s iconic symbols.

I walked to the stairs and caught my breath.  It was mirrored almost exactly as it is in the Rue Cambon store in Paris where Chanel would show her latest collections.

The second floor is reminiscent of Mademoiselle’s Paris apartment. Coromandel screens with interlocking C’s stand tall behind a roll arm sofa upholstered in beige suede that looks as if it was taken out of the Rue Cambon apartment.

The entire store is done in the Chanel motif. The color scheme is black, gold, ivory and beige. Architect and designer Peter Marino, who has designed Chanel boutiques for over 20 years, told Architectural Digest he “went for a residential look” for the Boston store.  He fully embraced the Chanel ideal with an eye toward Boston style. “Boston is a conservative town. I thought they’d want quiet luxury, nothing trendy or loud.”

But of course he had to add glamour.  It is Chanel after all.

A rhinestone stag, designed by local artist Marc Swanson, reminds you of Mademoiselle’s two bronze deer and a gold-plated wheat sheaf is a symbol of abundance and good fortune. Marino says “the store is like a work of couture.”

For me, the store is a chance to step into the world of Chanel.  It’s like looking at her apartment and her life. And until I travel back to Paris and go into 31 Rue Cambon, it’s the closest look I’ll get.

I’ll take it. For now.

######

Don’t let Chic Happen without you!

Facebook: Chic Happens  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Happens/140944165939514

Twitter: chichappens5  https://twitter.com/chichappens5

Instagram: @chichappensboston  https://instagram.com/chichappensboston/