Celebrity Life

Inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite flower, the Maison presents an all-new PREMIÈRE watch and EXTRAIT DE CAMÉLIA charms ring.

The post Chanel Drops New Diamond-Studded Additions To It’s PREMIÈRE Collection appeared first on LUXUO.

Chanel watchmaking presents the clearest representation of its values in the J12 X-Ray – literally. This gem of a timepiece also gives us the chance to wax lyrical about the J12 overall

The post The All-Sapphire Chanel J12 X-Ray appeared first on LUXUO.

A sartorial shortcut to this warm weather staple.

The post Men’s shorts: a brief history, where to buy, and how to style them appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

A sartorial shortcut to this warm weather staple.

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Chanel brings Place Vendôme to Hong Kong as it stages a brilliant display of spectacular pieces hailing from some of its most notable high jewellery collections.

For nearly two decades, Chanel by tradition would present a themed high jewellery collection once a year and in Paris, no less. It has grown to become a highly anticipated annual event – one that clients and journalists would fly from all corners of the world to see and experience, where the pieces are presented in a themed exhibition that would be a treat to the senses.

This year, as we’re unable to travel to Paris, Chanel brings a piece of the magical city to Hong Kong as it transforms a space at PMQ into Place Vendôme, the famed square Mademoiselle Coco Chanel crossed hundreds of times between her residence at the Ritz, to her high jewellery atelier at 18 Place Vendôme, and boutique and one-time home at 31 Rue Cambon.

Strewn within this imagined space that featured “French windows” overlooking the square’s famed bronze obelisk and lined by those charming Paris street signs, are spectacular pieces from some of its most iconic collections, including the 1.5 1 Camelia 5 Allures, L'Espit Du Lion, Café Society and 1932.

Discover some of the pieces that were featured at Chanel's aptly named exhibition, "18 Place Vendôme" – referencing to Chanel's high jewellery atelier – held last week. We begin with the 1.5 1 Camelia 5 Allures, a collection comprised of 50 jewels – 22 of which transformable pieces – offering the wearer a multitude of ways to wear them. It features Coco Chanel’s favourite flower, the camellia, which she adored for its austerity, geometric aesthetic and the subtle but elegant manner with which it complemented her clothing.

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Then there’s the L'Espit Du Lion, which pays tribute to Mademoiselle Chanel’s zodiac sign, Leo, and a city that’s captured her heart and spirits in more ways than one – Venice. The lion would come to adorn many of her creations – from buttons, bags to yes, jewels.

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To mark the 80^th anniversary of the Bijoux de Diamants collection, Coco Chanel’s first foray into the world of jewellery, Chanel creates an 80-piece line named after the year she launched it: 1932. This exceptional collection draws inspiration from the many motifs and symbols that permeated Coco’s imagination – from constellations, comets, stars, to fringes, ribbons and feathers — which were crafted using a dreamy combination of white, yellow and black diamonds, blue and pink sapphires and of course, a generous helping of luscious pearls.

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Last but certainly not the least, the Café Society collection, a testament to Chanel’s willingness to deviate from the brand’s classic, time-and-tested motifs and references to explore novel designs and further widen the diversity of Chanel’s high jewellery offering. Café Society take up a geometric approach by means of assembling beautiful stones in rhythmic patterns, and introducing intriguing  combinations of rigid and jagged lines. It is arguably Chanel’s most up-to-the minute high jewellery collection yet.

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The post Chanel’s Exhibition is as Much a Stunning Homage to its Classics as it is a Shift From it appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Chanel’s foray into the world of watchmaking began over 30 years ago, in which time the maison has not looked back, nor slowed down.

The fashion powerhouse has over the last few decades come out with some of the most memorable, distinct and aesthetically provocative watches for women, inspired by aspects of the French brand’s history as well the life of its founder, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel.

As we have some fun wearing four of Chanel’s classics – the Code Coco, Boy.Friend, J12 and Première – we're reminded of why they are among the most hotly coveted accessories for both fashion-forward and timeless dressers alike.

Code Coco

[caption id="attachment_211073" align="aligncenter" width="1125"] Chanel Code Coco[/caption]

Chanel’s Code Coco is stunningly distinct, edgy but also an elegant timepiece inspired by the clasp of the iconic Chanel 2.55 purse created in 1955. An ultra-chic watch worthy of succeeding the trendy Boy.Friend, the Code Coco is made in stainless steel or ceramic, and comes with a rectangular black dial that flows seamlessly into a quilted bracelet, and a rotating clasp/ metal bar that conceals or shows the time that closes with a click – as you may have guessed, just like the quilted 2.55 bag.

Launched in 2017, Chanel this year presented three new versions: The first is of which is all about extravagance with an XXL steel strap that wraps around the wrist like a cuff, the second comes with embossed black leather with a quilted motif, and last but certainly not the least the So Black version that’s crafted entirely in black.

Boy.Friend

[caption id="attachment_211074" align="aligncenter" width="1125"] Chanel Boy.Friend[/caption]

The Boy.Friend is a timepiece of understated elegance. Launched in 2015, the line celebrates masculine dressing – a style Mademoiselle Chanel embraced long before the rest of the fashion world caught on the trend in a big way. If the watch’s rather provocative name was anything to go by, you’d know that the Boy.Friend was designed to shake up classic, feminine codes, making the watch appealing to either gender. Its octagonal case is a seeming derivative of Chanel's earlier classic, the Première, as well as the bottle cap from the Chanel No. 5 perfume.

The watch comes in three sizes – small, medium and large – made in beige gold (a material unique to Chanel), white gold or steel. Its dial is available in either black or opaline, and free of numerals or indices and instead features an extended centre decorated with a delicate guilloché pattern, or fully paved with diamonds.

J12

[caption id="attachment_211075" align="aligncenter" width="1125"] Chanel J12[/caption]

The J12 watch stands as yet another testament to Chanel’s insatiable desire to shake things up. . This playful watch, executed in ceramic, is both artistic and innovative, representing some of the maison’s most technically impressive timepieces. First launched in black in 2000, the watch was three years later crafted in white ceramic in 38mm and 33mm versions. In the process, the J12 came out with a myriad of iterations featuring an impressive suite of complications, starting with a chronograph, then a tourbillon and a GMT, to name a few.

This year, as the cult classic celebrates its 20th anniversary, the J12 was given subtle refinements such as a wider dial opening, and a more refined bezel, dial and numeral indicators, which this time around is also presented in ceramic. This year’s J12 is also equipped with a specially designed, COSC-certified 12.1 calibre automatic movement, which offers an impressive 70 hours of autonomy. The J12 comes primarily in black and white – two colours dear to Mademoiselle Chanel.

Première

[caption id="attachment_211076" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Chanel Première[/caption]

Its case shape is patterned after the aerial view of Paris’ glitzy Place Vendôme, and incidentally the cap on the bottle of its famous Chanel No. 5 perfume, the delicately sophisticated Première watch that made its debut in 1987 conjures up not only images of the brand, but of Paris itself. Technically speaking, the Première would come to house Chanel’s first in-house movement, the Calibre 1, and not long after to mark the watch’s 30^th anniversary, encased its second manufacture movement, which had a touch of Coco Chanel’s favourite camellia flower. While other – and arguably – more buzz-worthy watches came to join Chanel’s family of watches, the Première, would remain an integral part of the Chanel watches suite.

Credits:
Photography Ricky Lo
Styling Tasha Ling
Hair Jean Tong @Aten
Make-up Littlewhite
Model Vika D

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Paris Fashion Week 2020 closed yesterday on a high note with spectacular shows from Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Chanel went back to the timeless glamour of black and white Hollywood movies while Louis Vuitton embraced a gender neutral future.

Tinseltown galore at Chanel

[caption id="attachment_211025" align="alignnone" width="1024"] (Image: Chanel)[/caption]

At Chanel's presentation, an army of the world's top supermodels walked under a huge Hollywood-style sign spelling out the brand's name in its biggest catwalk spectacle since designer Virginie Viard took over the fabled French house from Karl Lagerfeld after his death last year. They included the body positive pin-up, Jill Kortleve, a Dutch model who is a voluptuous size 16 (US size 12).

Covid-19 restrictions may have limited the number of fashionistas allowed into the immense Grand Palais in central Paris, but like the decor, Viard wrote her ambitions large. Her collection was no less than a grand sweep through the long history of the label founded by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, with a giant nod to Chanel's time in Tinseltown in the 1930s when she dressed stars like Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich and Gloria Swanson.

"I was thinking of actresses on the red carpet... some of whom we haven't seen in a long time... their faces a little somewhere else as the photographers call out to them," Viard said afterwards.

[caption id="attachment_211019" align="aligncenter" width="619"] (Image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP)[/caption]

The show — dominated by black and white interspersed with splashes of bold colour — coincides with the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to Coco Chanel in the French capital, which opened last week to rave reviews.

Big screen glamour

Viard recreated and updated some of Coco's most beloved looks, with a nod to her predecessor Lagerfeld's more street fashion sensibility with logos a gogo.

"Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld dressed so many actresses in their films and in their lives," Viard added. "They made us dream."

"Without redoing clothes exactly and falling into vintage, I wanted it to be very joyous and colourful and full of life."

[caption id="attachment_211020" align="aligncenter" width="594"] (Image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP)[/caption]

With Paris Fashion Week 2020 forced largely online by the coronavirus, Chanel streamed the show live for fashion fans. "Lights, cameras, action!" it declared on Instagram as it aped the opening of a silent black and white film, placing a huge Chanel sign on the Hollywood Hills.

Viard kept up the theme of the brand's long association with the silver screen with video clips of models reclining in luxury hotels like movie idols about to attend premieres.

The brand's association with Hollywood began in 1930 when studio mogul Sam Goldwyn begged Coco Chanel to come to Los Angeles to give his stable of stars some "class", offering her US$1 million to come twice a year.

Gender fluidity and stiletto clogs at Louis Vuitton

While Chanel looked back, Nicolas Ghesquiere's Louis Vuitton could not be more resolutely now, with the opening look a sweater emblazoned with "Vote", a rallying call for the liberal left in the upcoming US presidential election.

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But that was as conventionally political as it got, with the highly rated French designer insisting that his eyes were set firmly on the possibilities that gender fluid clothes might offer in the future. "What cut might dissolve the masculine and the feminine?" he asked. "What wardrobe might make them come together in one?"

Ghesquiere said he wanted to bring the world's richest luxury label on a "voyage of exploration... to discover and abolish the last [gender] frontiers."

The bravura show was held in the long-closed La Samaritaine department store, which is due to reopen next year. As always with Ghesquiere, it was all in the cut, with classic business and streetwear uniforms given surprising turns.

[caption id="attachment_211022" align="aligncenter" width="509"] A model wearing Louis Vuitton's clog stilettos. (Image: Lucas Barioulet/ AFP)[/caption]

But perhaps the most eye-catching thing about his spring/summer 2021 collection were the shoes, with a line of pointed clog stilettos sending Instagram into spasms.

(Main image: Stephane de Sakutin/ AFP; Featured image: Lucas Barioulet/ AFP)

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