Sandra‘s Closet

Last December, I told you already about the beautiful Chanel Paris-Byzance Pre-Fall 2011 Collection and the gorgeous limited-edition byzantine shaded make-up that comes with it. Now it is available in the Chanel stores around the globe.

Inspired by the mosaic of Empress Theodora, Chanel Global Creative Director of Make-up Peter Philips created a beautiful, graphic look. Like the famous portrait, a red line crosses the eyelid, following the brow line. Parallel to this, a stroke of deep black eyeliner accentuates a graphic effect, which frames the eye as if setting a precious stone, redefining its proportions.

Inspired by Byzantine treasures, red, black, gold and bronze-tinged shades offer a classic base that can be adopted as desired in sumptuous or simply day-to-day makeup.

Rouge Allure Rouge Byzantin CHF 48.- / Joues Contraste Or and Rouge, each CHF 60.-

The Regard Signé de Chanel palette takes center stage: mirroring the Chanel suit button, each shadow is dressed in a quilted effect and stamped with the double C. The texture can be used in two ways, powdery and creamy.

Regard Signé de Chanel Topkapi CHF 77.-

Hurry, those items will sell out fast!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Chanel

After yesterday’s post, I have some very good news for the business women among you! For F/W 2011, it is all about work, the suit your fashion must-have. The designers were keeping an eye on the functionality while not neglecting the style. Many of them continued to pay homage to the `70s. There are many different looks to choose from, so it is your season for heavy shopping!

The cropped pants emerged on the runways as a welcome alternative to skirts. An easy-going and much more comfortable (especially when sitting down) look for the office which will surely find many fans.

Cocoon shapes, oversized shoulders, the volumes are changing for F/W 2011. The trendsetters among us will sport this trend immediately.
The designers explored new shapes and came up with the dropped shoulders. No worries, the runway looks are still more exaggerated. Once the jackets hit the shelves, they won’t be as oversized as seen at Stella McCartney for example.

Slowly the Pre-fall 2011 collections are popping in, so if you don’t want to wait too long, start your shopping trip. June might be the best month to look. It is always such a wonderful feeling, when the new season starts. This time, there are many great outfts that will work for the office as well for the cocktail hour after.

So suit youself!

LoL, Sandra

Last week, I was invited by Louis Vuitton to explore their F/W 2011 collection very closely. The event took place in Milan and because of  the beautiful sunshine the day started already wonderfully with a pittoresque flight over the Alps.

With his F/W 2011 collection for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs explored the mysterious allure of fashion and fetish. „Fetish,“ said the designer, „has a positive side. It’s an inexplicable sort of concentration on or obsessing with something. I think that also means commitment and discipline.“

The result was a powerful collection that walked the fine line between modesty and provocation, reason and irrationality – an ambiguity evidenced by the juxtaposition of tightness of focus with richness of detail. For my show report, please click here.

First some looks from the runway. Strict silhouettes suggestive of corsets, mannish, military-style jackets and coats softened by ample drop shoulders and the main focus on tthe waist, reminiscent of Belle de Jour. Marc Jacobs toyed with the idea of French maids and their bourgeois mistresses.

Very importantly, the detail – evidence of an artisanal devotion to craft which, in the words of the show notes, is „the apotheosis of fetish“.

Those mask, shoe and glove motifs, for instance, were not printed, but painstakingly sewn in intricately cut sequins.

The collection’s ultimate and not-so-obscure object of desire was the iconic Lockit bag, created in 1958 and reinterpreted in a myriad guises: in shiny Monogram canvas or total-look shearling, in rubberized leather accented with glossy tape, in jewel shades of patent Monogram bouclette, and in nylon with resin handels.

The Lockit clutch comes with a handcuff which can make it literally inseparable from its weare and symbolizes a women’s attachment to her bag. Might be a good idea to secure your object of desire….

 

The show’s accessories had fun with the fetish theme. Standouts included officer’s caps in fluffy shearling and masks worn in the hair as neo-tiaras.

Shoes played with the girly charm of round-toe pumps accentuated by delicate bow straps and the fetish appeal of daring bondage straps on the collection’s leg-hugging boots. The shiny rubber boots will definitely be among my must-haves.

 

Louis Vuitton’s fashion jewelry offers beautiful pieces to finish off your winter looks perfectly. I am in love with the stingray embellished earrings.

 

Personalised items are bestsellers for Louis Vuitton so that it seems all natural to expand the possibilties.

For Louis Vuitton’s F/W 2011 men’s collection, the studio director Paul Helbers, under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs, has explored the ultra simplified elegance of Amish style and instilled it with a hint of strangeness, inspired by David Lynch.

The predominantly black tone of this collection is lit with flashes of Motel red. The Amish mix and match tradition shows in details like detachable vests or jackets patched in stripes.

 

In case that you are wondering what to do with your older Louis Vuitton bags, why not put them together as an art and craft. The artist Billie Achilleos came up with some pretty amazing ideas.

 

If I have whetted your appetite, please take a look at those beautiful pieces that belong to the Pre-fall 2011 collection and will be in stores starting next month.
The new colours for the leo scarfs are so beautiful and those biker boots are my must-haves.

What an amazing collection, W.O.W.!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Yesterday in New York City, influencers from the worlds of fashion, art, philanthrophy, business and entertainement came together like last year at Christie’s Bid to Save the Earth. After a live auction, the Runway to Green fashion show took place that must have accelerated every fashionista’s heart. The pieces on the catwalk from over 25 designers including Prada, Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Thakoon and many more were from the upcoming F/W 2011 collections.

Now, those must-haves are available on net-à-porter, but only on the US site. No worries, my dear European and Asian readers, they also ship to us. A minimum of 10% of net-proceeds from the sale of each item will benefit Alliance of Climate Protection, Natural Resource Defense Council and United Nations Environmental Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign. Shopping for a good cause and your chance to be the first to wear a stunning piece from the next season. Do I need to say more..?!
Ready, set, go!

LoL, Sandra

Just when you finished off your wardrobe for this winter and have started thinking about next summer, I am challenging you once more with something very beautiful for next year’s fall.
Who said following fashion was an easy task?!

This Tuesday was a very snowy day in Paris but the guests who enjoyed the atmosphere in the Chanel Haute Couture salons were transported to another era, time and place. Karl Lagerfeld was inspired for his pre-fall 2011 collection by Byzantium, one of Coco Chanel’s major inspirations when she was the first to launch a line of costume jewelry in the 1920s.

The Paris–Byzance Métiers d’art show broadcasted Chanel’s specialist craftsmen that the French house has gathered under its umbrella: Desrues the costume jeweler, Lemarié the feather specialist, Lesage the embroiderer, Massaro the shoe-maker, Michel the milliner, Goossens the goldsmith and Guillet the floral accessory specialist.

In a decor reminding of an Ottomanesque chill-out room with 400 metres of squined fabric covering the walls, Lagerfeld revisited the bold colors and antique golds. Byzance and its splendor embellished every look from belts adorned with square glass beads to gold running through burn-out tweed and embroidered silks.

The make-up was kept in the same color family with one star product: The cream palette is combining five different golds and is said to be limited to only 1500 pieces.

This collection is for the modern Theodora empresses who might be Chanel’s clientele of today. Celebrating Chanel’s strong heritage is surely a smart move and one key to remaining a powerhouse in the decades to come, especially with the opening of a second Chanel boutique in Istanbul.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel