In Karl’s world, there is no fashion without frivolity (which is the way it should be pretty much all the time, if you ask me) and there is no business like fashion-show business. This season, he went full force at Chanel, applying elements of exaggeration any and everywhere he could. Hula-hoop bags (yes, as in straps the shape and size of a real-life hula hoop), polka-dot prints made out of voluptuous pearls, extra-large Peter Pan collars, ultra-cropped tweed jackets, ankle-length skirts juxtaposed against upper-thigh skimmers, and garden-tastic beaded floral appliqués: it all adds up to a great sense of play, proportion and otherwise. Not to mention those spaceship-sized, transparent brims on the sunhats, dangling from many of the models’ hands.
But the most jubilant of all the oversized accessories are the bracelets and necklaces. Pearls galore, clustered and piled and layered and jumbled. Think of a little girl who has gotten into her mommy’s jewel box and compiled her own creations, only a hell of a lot chicer. As for the more streamlined pieces: think gold cuffs featuring pearls the size of golf-balls. Just ask the Kaiser: bigger is better!
I’m in love with that large pearl bracelet. Really in love. Wow!