Sandra‘s Closet

«Women think of all colours except the absence of colour. I have said that black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.»
Gabrielle Chanel

«Noir» and «Blanc,» the CHANEL absolutes, made elegant, timeless and iconic by Gabrielle Chanel and still the enduring signature of her House today. For F/W 2019, black and white, the ultimate symbolic (non) colours of CHANEL, are explored and reinterpreted by Lucia Pica, CHANEL Global Creative Makeup and Color Designer, for a stylized and sumptuous beauty collection.

From the formalized and abstract to the silken and sensuous, Lucia Pica infuses her new approach to these power colours of CHANEL with both an appreciation of their transcendent absolutism and an eye for the nuanced gradations of the spaces in-between.

In tune with the Modernist architectural and cultural environment of Paris, part of the embracement by CHANEL of black and white could be seen as a reflection of her time; the ebony and ivory of Art Deco interiors, the delineated graphic lines of the Moderne, the stylized photographic and cinematic images that proliferated, even those images of Mademoiselle herself… It is while bearing all of this in mind that Lucia Pica has approached the ultimate graphic colours of CHANEL, both celebrating and humanizing them – literally making them flesh, for the contemporary consumer.

Lucia Pica now sees these colours from the life of Gabrielle Chanel as part of a manifesto for modernity in beauty for contemporary women. Embracing the aura of the silver screen and the silver print, particularly concentrating on the gradations of colour to be found within these processes, sepias, greys and new «Rouge Noirs» emerge. Sparkling, shimmering textures add an all-over glow of glamour, while delineated and structured mattes make a more direct appeal. Altogether, the collection is a meeting of fantasy and reality, the stylized with the organic, a perfect harmony of absolutes.

«Black and white are the colours I relate most to Gabrielle Chanel; the time she lived in, the power she gave these colours, the way they appeared in her life. Black and white were in her surroundings, in the interiors, in the architecture of Paris as well as in the symbolism of her life.» Lucia Pica

LIPS
Rouge Allure Liquid Powder CHF 48.-
974 Timeless
978 Bois de Nuit
Rouge Allure Velvet Extrême CHF 48.-
128 Rose Nocturne (Edition Limitée)
130 Rouge Obscur

Rouge Coco Gloss CHF 39.-
814 Crystal Clear (Edition Limitée)
816 Laque Noire (Edition Limitée)

NAILS/HANDS
Le Vernis CHF 33.-
713 Pure Black (Edition Limitée)
711 Pure White (Edition Limitée)
Le Lift La Crème Main Galet 50 ml CHF 80.- (new!)
La Crème Main 50 ml CHF 64.-

EYES – The intense focus of the collection
Les 4 Ombres CHF 77.-
332 Noir Suprême (Edition Limitée)
334 Modern Glamour
Ombre Première Top Coat CHF 43.- (my favorites!)
317 Carte Blanche (Edition Limitée)
327 Pénombre (Edition Limitée)

Stylo Yeux Waterproof CHF 35.-
949 Blanc Graphique
88 Noir Intense (Repromotion)

Le Volume Ultra Noir de CHANEL CHF 47.-
90 Ultra Noir

FACE
Le Gel Pailleté CHF 60.-
(Edition Limitée)
A transparent shimmering gel

«There is an idea of extreme fantasy as well as reality in this collection, of something very stylized or delineated while embracing the day-to-day. There is a certain palpability to the texture; it is so real it becomes part of your skin. At the same time the sparkle hovers above it, becoming almost like an aura, a kind of glamour seen in films – LE GEL PAILLETÉ is very much about this.» Lucia Pica

The Noir et Blanc de CHANEL make-up collection will be available from end of August, 2019. The Le Lift La Crème Main (hand cream) will be available from beginning of September 2019.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © CHANEL

Bag aficionados, here we go! Meet CHANEL‘s new GABRIELLE bag. The official advertising campaign is announced to launch on April 3rd 2017, photographed by Karl Lagerfeld and featuring four guests of honour: Kristen Stewart, Caroline de Maigret, Pharrell Williams, along with Cara Delevingne.

Pharrell Williams, Cara Delevingne and Karl Lagerfeld at the Chanel Collection des Metiers d’Art Pre-fall 2017: Paris Cosmopolite Show at Hotel Ritz on December 6, 2016 in Paris.

All four of them have woven strong links with CHANEL. Kristen Stewart has appeared in several fashion and beauty campaigns since 2013. Model, music producer and writer, Caroline de Maigret is also a close friend of Karl Lagerfeld. Pharrell Williams appeared in the designer’s short film that celebrated the Paris-Salzburg collection; he composed the film’s music and was the face of that same collection alongside Cara Delevingne, who is ever loyal to Karl Lagerfeld.

First presented at the S/S 2017 show, CHANEL’s GABRIELLE bag is like a mischievous wink to Gabrielle Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld wanted it to have the same aesthetic and practical spirit in that blend of strength and elegance that characterises CHANEL handbags. Fitted on a rigid thermoformed base, the main body of the bag is extremely light and ultra-supple: this contrasting structure gives it perfect stability and makes finding belongings effortless. In tune with a continuing search for comfort advocated by the founder of the House, it hugs the silhouette, moving with the gait and never hindering it.

Its adjustable strap comes with a double chain woven from leather and golden and silver metal. A highly original detail permitting several ways of wearing it: over the shoulder, across the body or both at the same time, with the chain going over one shoulder and then diagonally across the other.

Stay tuned – more to come in April! I am already in love…
#TheCHANELGABRIELLEbag

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Chanel, Sketch: © Karl Lagerfeld/Chanel

The 69th Cannes Film Festival is officially underway and I haven’t even posted all my memories from last year. American director Woody Allen‘s film «Café Society» has been selected to open the famous event. It is a quintessential romance Hollywood story—in the 1930s,  a young man named Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg), who falls in love with Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and then Veronica (Blake Lively).

Behind the scenes of «Café Society».

As I just got back from Cuba, I had to shorten my trip to Cannes and will be leaving on Monday. Here are some photos of last year when I attended as guest of Swarovski the opening ceremony and premiere of «La Tete Haute (Standing Tall)» in a beautiful Chanel gown.

See you in Cannes!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Pascal Le Segretain for Getty Images, © Vogue, © Zimbio, © Sandra Bauknecht and Courtesy of Swarovski

Rosabotanica is the latest addition to the Balenciaga botanical garden that was founded with Florabotanica perfume from 2012. Presenting a fresh version with a touch of sheerness and second skin feeling, this floral green fragrance is based on spicy rose.

Kristen Stewart who is once more the face of the campaign (see last photo of this post) goes topless and wears nothing else but the new scent.

FLORAL GREEN

Top notes: Petitgrain, fig leaf and hyacinth
Middle notes: Rose, pink pepper, grapefruit and cardamom
Base notes: White amber, cedar, vetiver, patchouli and woodsy notes

The fragrance is available as 30ml (CHF 91.00), 50ml (CHF 121.00), 100 ml (CHF 162.00) Eau de Parfum and as Body Lotion (CHF 72.00). In Switzerland exclusively from February 10, 2014 at Marionnaud. It is a truly beautiful scent and I am sure that most of you will love it.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balenciaga

The invitation sketched by Karl Lagerfeld read, “Coco Chanel back in Dallas” and he took it literally. His fashion show for the Pre-fall 2014 Métiers d’Art collection titled “Paris-Dallas” took place last Tuesday at Dallas Fair Park, a historical venue with art-deco architecture that is located in the heart of the Texan city.

Chanel Paris – Dallas show decor

This event was the occasion to celebrate the strong bond that linked the French designer to the US. “I admire and love America. It’s where I made my fortune. For many Americans (…), I am France” stated Gabrielle Chanel, cited by Paul Morand in his book, The Allure of Chanel.

Stanley Marcus pictured on September 6th 1957 greeting Coco Chanel as she arrived in Dallas

The climax of this mutual passion dates back to 1957, when Coco Chanel – accompanied by a delegation of 125 people from France – landed on October 14th at the Dallas airport. Stanley Marcus, co-founder of the Neiman Marcus store, awarded her with the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, the “Oscar of Fashion”. That year, the designer of rue Cambon is the only winner among the 300 fashion designers invited, an indication of the importance she holds in the hearts of Americans.

Gabrielle Chanel and Stanley Marcus during her visit in Texas

During her twelve-day Texan journey, Gabrielle Chanel dazzles the crowd to the point that Time Magazine reports the event by titling it “Dallas in Wonderland”. Fifty-six years later, Karl Lagerfeld returned to Dallas and retraced this journey that sealed the French-American love story of the designer with the people seduced by the modernity of her creations.

To celebrate the occasion, Karl Lagerfeld directed a short movie titled ‘The Return’ in which he shows Coco Chanel’s incredible return to center stage in December 1953 when the designer reopened her Haute Couture house after fifteen years of absence. The collection was welcomed by the French press with an icy silence as Dior’s 1947 New Look, cinched at the waist, had taken over the fashion hype. Only the American media supported the looks that defined the rebirth of Chanel’s style. ‘The Return’ retraces this determining period, that shaped the legend of the designer of rue Cambon forever.

The film features Geraldine Chaplin in the role of Gabrielle Chanel, Rupert Everett, Anna Mouglalis, Lady Amanda Harlech, Arielle Dombasle, the model Kati Nescher, as well as Vincent Darré and Sam McKnight.

The drive-in for ‘The Return’ screening before the show

Chanel’s Métiers d’Art collections are designed to showcase the amazing and outstanding craftsmanship of the ateliers that the House of Chanel has acquired to preserve over all those years. Personally speaking, I admire Karl Lagerfeld for his creativity that never uses an element the way it is meant to be. He transforms cowboy boots into wider versions, plays with texture so that laminated jersey looks like shiny leather and brings Native American details into the modern world.

Enjoy the photos of this absolutely fabulous collection! My favorite is this dark star-spangled gown, an ode to the ’30s with the right edge of a Texan cowboy girl! So, ladies, that’s what y’all are wearin’ next fall!

Karl Lagerfeld has chosen Kristen Stewart, who attended the show last Tuesday, to be the face of the upcoming campaign of the Pre-fall 2014 Métiers d’Art “Paris-Dallas” collection. I have to say that the American actress is not my favorite choice… but I am sure that Karl Lagerfeld will surprise us with something different once more.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel, © Oliver Saillant, © AP

Any clue what those icons have in common? They all have their birthday today!

I have been truly amazed when I stumbled upon this fact. Marc Jacobs for example is celebrating his 50th and Jean Paul Belmondo his 80th birthday. Any astrologist among my readers who can explain me this phenomena please? Being born under the sign of aries, they are all creative and fashionable…

1 Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor; 1933
2 Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer; 1957
3 Anna dello Russo, Italian style icon; 1962
4 Marc Jacobs, American fashion designer; 1963
5 Paulina Porizkova, Czech model; 1965
6 Leighton Meester, American actress; 1986
7 Sara Blomqvist, Swedish model; 1989
8 Kristen Stewart, American actress; 1990
9 Elle Fanning, American actress and Rodarte muse; 1998

Happy Birthday, also to Hugh Hefner (1922) and Dennis Quaid (1954)!

LoL, Sandra

Kristen Stewart has officially made the transition from teenage dream to high-fashion icon.

The ad campaign for Balenciaga’s new Florabotanica fragrance features the 22 year-old “Twilight” actress in a floral dress, looking fierce at the camera. I am convinced that the new scent will get a lot of attention with its modern, attractive flacon and unusual ingredients, such as mint, rose, carnation, caladium leaf, vetiver and amber.

Balenciaga Florabotanica will be available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum.
In Switzerland from October 2012, exclusively at Marionnaud.

And I have finally a scent matching my floral Balenciaga dress.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Balenciaga and © Sandra Bauknecht