The Chanel Metiers d’Arts show is always a fashion ‘moment’ and last year’s show in Scotland’s Linlithgow Palace is certainly a tough act to follow – but Dallas, Texas, did not disappoint. Chosen by Karl for the reason that Coco Chanel had a long affiliation with the state after she was awarded the Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion Award by Neiman Marcus in 1957, it was perfectly fitting that he should be presented the same award – for the second time – the day after the show. The collection, set in a reconstruction of a traditional rodeo, was a celebration of the deep South: tassels, feathers, cowboy hats, boots and shirts, Navajo prints with references to Native American Indians and, of course, the Wild West. For hair, Sam was inspired by spaghetti Western movies and created a “modern cowgirl” look, which involved a bow made out of extensions tied low and loose onto a thick ponytail. “Karl sent a sketch before the show saying he wanted a bow to feature in the hair”, said Sam backstage. “It’s Western-inspired but to make it modern, we made the bows out of hair”. Texture was distinctly lived in. In the fitting the day before the show, Sam prepped models’ hair and then instructed them to sleep, and not wash it out.The next day, the day of the show, he then created an extra dusty texture with a misting of Oribe Dry Texturising Spray, also putting haphazard bends into lengths with GHD’s Eclipse iron, for and extra bit of dishevelling. Ornate extras included hand painted feathers and bejewelled clips attached to some girls’ ponytails, but artisanal touches also featured as part of make-up artist Peter Philips’s look, as he brushed gold and silver wet-look eyeshadows onto the temples to create a warrior-like effect that also resonated nuances of the fashion house’s signature tweed. They say that everything is bigger in Texas… It doesn’t quite get bigger – or better – than Metiers d’Art.
Read more about the show here
Read Lisa Armstrong’s review in the Telegraph
Read American Vogue’s review of the show