Fashion and the modernity of antiquity.
Contemporary fashion has perennially been, to the outsider's eye, a covert race of loud innovation; a judgement of originality somewhat based on the outrageousness of a designer's creations. At least, that was the mindset ingrained in me while I grew up in the 90s. The only exposure to runway fashion back then was the rare screening on local television, on which they would exclusively broadcast avant-garde outfits a la Comme Des Garcons. Fashion as an industry was but a speck in the local creative scene, and whatever inkling I had taught me that anything that blended in wasn't considered fashionable enough.
Enter my teens and the synonymous explosive trajectory of social media. My exposure to understated fashion grew exponentially - think ready-to-wear, resort, and high street. I would mentally style whatever clothes I had, or lack thereof. Growing up in Singapore, money was invested more in books and ten-year series's and less in apparel. On the contrary, these outfit ideas never materialised beyond the images in my mind. Nevertheless, with the help of my dear mother, my wardrobe was gradually stocked with clothes from mainstream brands, although mostly consisting of basics and essentials because they tend to be the only type of clothing that survive the fashion cycle.
Which brings me to our main point.
The fashion cycle is essentially "what goes around comes around" in clothing form, a fitting example would be today's resurgence of the 90s trends (of which I can't say I dislike). One would generally expect a fashion style to reemerge, say, 10 to 20 years after it dissipates. But to backtrack more than 2,000 years? Hardly heard of. And who could pull off a better concept than Karl Lagerfeld and his team of trusty creatives?
I gotta say, this season's resort collection is one of my absolute favourites - although there's a high chance this is coming from an extremely biased point of view, what with my mild childhood obsession with the Hercules animated film. I vaguely recall rewinding the VCR tape repeatedly, and when the movie played I had one eye transfixed on the slinky tunics and the other on the Caryatid columns springing to life and breaking into a dance. Since then, my love affair with ancient Grecian culture, while somewhat simmered down, has never really dissipated. Picture seventeen-year-old me, mouth agape as I looked at Greek statues in the flesh for the first time at Nicholson Museum (an unforgettable experience which preceded my clamouring to the gift shop and grabbing as many replica Greek coins as my hands could carry). You can imagine my reaction upon the big reveal of this season's designs, and for those who can't, I'll tell you: delight laced with a tinge of nostalgia. Which is also what I'll probably feel if I wore anything from the collection. If I could afford it, that is.
The Chanel Resort 2018 collection presents staple items that instantly transport one to an oasis of rocky cliffs and tranquil seasides. The biggest aspect of this series that I love is the reinvention of traditional Grecian forms and patterns into designs that are uniquely Chanel, while at the same time keeping it understated, proving once again that fashion doesn't need to be loud to be considered innovative and fresh. And more importantly, it presents the importance of la modernité de l'antiquité - the modernity of antiquity - old is new; the cycle continues. While it is impossible to pick just one look out of the 85, I have sieved out a couple of personal favourites. I hope you enjoy.
Images and the full collection can be found here.
I gotta say, this season's resort collection is one of my absolute favourites - although there's a high chance this is coming from an extremely biased point of view, what with my mild childhood obsession with the Hercules animated film. I vaguely recall rewinding the VCR tape repeatedly, and when the movie played I had one eye transfixed on the slinky tunics and the other on the Caryatid columns springing to life and breaking into a dance. Since then, my love affair with ancient Grecian culture, while somewhat simmered down, has never really dissipated. Picture seventeen-year-old me, mouth agape as I looked at Greek statues in the flesh for the first time at Nicholson Museum (an unforgettable experience which preceded my clamouring to the gift shop and grabbing as many replica Greek coins as my hands could carry). You can imagine my reaction upon the big reveal of this season's designs, and for those who can't, I'll tell you: delight laced with a tinge of nostalgia. Which is also what I'll probably feel if I wore anything from the collection. If I could afford it, that is.
The Chanel Resort 2018 collection presents staple items that instantly transport one to an oasis of rocky cliffs and tranquil seasides. The biggest aspect of this series that I love is the reinvention of traditional Grecian forms and patterns into designs that are uniquely Chanel, while at the same time keeping it understated, proving once again that fashion doesn't need to be loud to be considered innovative and fresh. And more importantly, it presents the importance of la modernité de l'antiquité - the modernity of antiquity - old is new; the cycle continues. While it is impossible to pick just one look out of the 85, I have sieved out a couple of personal favourites. I hope you enjoy.
Images and the full collection can be found here.
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