New York Chanel show captures Roaring Twenties

Karl Lagerfeld took his show on the road to New York recently in the latest chapter of a remarkable ride in the annals of current fashion. The Chanel designer seems to be nearing the iconic status of Coco herself, with his trademark immaculate white ponytail, shades and rock star attire. For the grand Gotham event, Lagerfeld attracted models, muses, Hollywood stars and well-heeled, well-pearled socialites to the 57th Street flagship store. Amazingly, the boutique remained closed for more than two days during the height of the Christmas shopping frenzy for the showing of an even more expensive than usual collection of bejewelled, embroidered and feathered confections. The evening show was small, and everybody was a front-rower. There was thin-as-a-reed Lindsay Lohan, loving Chanel in a vintage day dress strewn and trimmed with seed pearls. "I've been wearing Chanel all day," the actress said in her throaty voice. Diane Kruger made haute couture her own in a jazzy beaded dress worn with cut-off leggings, while Ashley Olsen carried a darling red quilted bag and supermodel Helena Christensen stood out in the sea of black by wearing head-to-toe crimson, including sparkly red strappy sandals. On the runway, models with crimson lips, smoky eyes and pinned-under wavy bobs looked like Roaring Twenties dolls as a folksy trio led by Devendra Banhart sat on the floor at the end of the runway and serenaded the crowd. Banhart, a young, bearded man, wore a cream Chanel skirt suit over pants. The clothes -- and steamer shiploads full of accessories -- called on all the Chanel signatures. A cream, quilted leather jacket with puff sleeves was decorated with coloured jewels for an Elizabethan look. Also regal were black velvet jackets with glittering crystal beading in the form of tiaras on the sleeves. Tweed skirt suits were worn over satin stovepipe pants, while a wool suit had soft camelia motifs and Pierrot-like flounces. Swirling crystal T-strap shoes and piles of costume jewelry completed the outfits, almost all of which were black and white. The collection, positioned between pret-a-porter and haute couture, draws on the work of five Parisian ateliers Chanel has bought over the past decade. They include the legendary Lesage house for embroidery, Massaro for shoes and Desrues for buttons and jewelry. You can credit Lagerfeld for recreating the Chanel mystique and every one of its signatures -- the camellia, tweed suit, quilting, and double-C logo. And he brought the Chanel sensibility to popular culture through H&M with a low-cost line, while establishing further recognition for himself. In fact, one of the collectibles from the H&M line is a T-shirt with a Warhol-esque image of Lagerfeld. Now, Stella McCartney has gone the H&M route, and there is talk of a Prada line, too. "It's a part of modern life," Lagerfeld said.  "Chanel and H&M can very well co-exist. I like the idea that people who have not a lot of money can buy what I do."-By Eva Fred.