This season, the Grand Palais becomes the vast Mediterranean garden of a beautiful, big house. A pool of water is surrounded by trees and Southern plant species in a harmony of neat lines. Pathways are almost “à la française”, like 18th century gardens. Indeed, it’s this period, his favourite, that has inspired Karl Lagerfeld, and in particular the talents of the marchands-merciers and the savoir-faire of the artisans of French luxury. Among the artistic themes of that century, flowers play an important role. Now, they are at the heart of CHANEL’s Spring-Summer 2019 Haute Couture collection, embroidered, painted, in lace, in feathers, in resin and also in ceramic, they appear even as hair jewels. They explode in bouquets of pastel pink, prairie green and sky blue, and in games of black, white, beige, navy blue, iridescent gold and silver.
“It’s a serene, ideal, timeless collection, that’s absolutely now, with new shapes”, says Karl Lagerfeld.
Here’s the beauty look described by Lucia Pica, Chanel Global Creative Make Up and Colour Designer: “The silhouette is 18th century but the girl has a Bowiesque feeling to her, especially in the makeup. Karl Lagerfeld sent me a sketch and it felt really like that. The shape of the eye is quite rounded at the top, a blended blue with a slight teal undertone. I added a sharp graphic line going underneath the eye to add a graphic strength to it. So there is the softness of the blending of the eyeshadow on the top and the toughness of the eyeliner underneath that is straight. There is a balm shine on top of the eyelid to make it a little bit more alive and lived in. The lips are red and matte, the skin is quite pale and porcelain, light and groomed but not too shiny. Overall, there is a contrast of textures with the matte lip, the balmy deep eyes and the soft translucent skin. This contrast reflects the allure of the girl walking the show: elegant and sophisticated but with toughness to her. She is powerful and strong.
