So this all seems a bit bizarre to me. Never in a million years would I put the concept of Emoji's and the brand Chanel anyway near each other in terms of modern day fashion. The collaboration just doesn't add up. However, I suppose if Karl Lagerfeld wants to start catering his brand towards the new generation, he's got to start somewhere and what better way than to take one of the ideas of the biggest technology companies in the world and put his own spin on it. Last year, Emoji's became the fastest growing language in the UK as Apple have continued to engage billions of millennials and even Generation Y's across the world with their kitsch use of the animations to communicate in a new way. However, in this case, Karl Lagerfeld is using these Emoji's to communicate fun, playfulness and his personality for Fall Winter 2016. We also have to think about the fact that Lagerfeld needed something really out there to top its previous showcases that took on board the themes of airports, zen gardens, casino and art fairs. Therefore, he has managed to get us all talking once again with his new vision for Chanel and show that at the age of 82 as creative director of an 107 year old brand, he is still in the know with the latest technology.
During Chanel's show at Paris Fashion Week for Fall 2016, Lagerfeld's models strutted down the runway covered in kitschy cat faces in honour of famous pet, (who has over 80,000 Instagram follower?!) four leaf clovers to bring luck to his show of course, peace signs and multiple animated flowers. However, Lagerfeld used the Emoji's in a subtle way by creatively applying the design in a faded manner then burying the clothes in chunky beads and jewelled broaches so that the print was not too overpowering or possibly perceived as tacky. Therefore, they were hardly noticeable unless you looked at the clothing in great detail and Lagerfeld continues to mix up his collection with the infamous tweed the brand is known for and cool silhouettes. Take a look below....
Another thing that seems to have gotten people talking over the past few days and which is allowing Chanel to remain relevant in a modern fresh way, is the recruitment of Willow Smith as brand ambassador for 2016. With Jaden Smith taking over Louis Vuitton in an innovative gender fluid way, are we really surprised that Vuitton's competitor, Chanel have taken the youngest Smith on board?
Willow created an Instagram post earlier this week thanking the fashion house for picking her to become brand ambassador and for also widening their view on what is seen as beautiful in this day and age. Here is what the model, musician wrote... "Thank you Karl Lagerfeld and the entire team at Chanel for expanding the perceptions of 'beauty' by picking me to be the new Chanel ambassador. I am honoured. #BLACKGIRLMAGIC". Following in the footsteps of Blake Lively, Julienne Moore and Cara Delevigne, physically and classically Willow Smith does not obtain the look that Chanel have previously been known to value. However, Coco Chanel herself claimed from the beginning that she wanted to change the way women dressed and communicate the emancipation of women at the time and the movement from tradition to modern day values through her clothing. Therefore, by using Willow Smith as the new face of the brand, I think Lagerfeld has managed to capture the same vision of an independent diverse woman that Coco Chanel wanted in the 20s. This makes me think that his decision of Willow Smith is not so absurd as we first believed and it actually creates a movement from luxury fashion to an hip contemporary style for the brand.
The model even posted an up-close photo of her short dreadlocks to Instagram to further communicate a message based on the movement that Chanel is undergoing to create a more diverse and inclusive vision of beauty for today's society.
Willow Smith wearing a Chanel cat suit to the FW16/17 Paris show
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