Anonymous asked: chanel used to be so wonderful, karl is not creating wonderful collections as before

in my opinion, chanel has always been very hit and miss. karl lagerfeld is constantly balancing commercialization of the chanel brand with his own designs and creativity. there is a lot of pressure to stay within the iconic “chanel” look but obviously there is an urge to recreate and reinvent after every collection and there is a limited amount of substance. even the haute couture line stays in some boundaries because need for it to sell to their dedicated clients. in the past chanel has been the only brand that has actively stated that it creates a profit from the haute couture line and i expect that even though spring/summer 2012 was terrible a lot of it will be sold because indeed, it’s chanel and because of the classic “chanel” silhouettes that their clients love.

increasingly, it’s hard to understand the vision of designers under the houses of which their name doesn’t appear. fashion is a business after all and you cannot go wrong with pieces worth up to $100,000. although, i do agree fully that his collections are declining in wonder and beauty. like ready-to-wear, haute couture must evolve and with new designers and this is exactly what has happened to the house of valentino. before valentino himself retired, the lines were looking very dated until maria grazia chiuri and pier paolo piccioli, respectively, became the new creative directors. valentino’s couture sales alone have risen an incredible 80% in a year alone. the haute couture clients are becoming younger and the lines are becoming increasingly more profitable and chanel is not evolving with the change.

even with these amazing sale figures, people complain on the repetitiveness of collections. designers are not machines and there is pressure with the expense of couture to do it properly. honestly, i cannot blame designers to repeat similar designs when they know they’ll be well bought. chanel is a business, and i think if we critque karl on his designing abilities, it should be karl lagerfeld for chanel and not solely himself; he is designing for a fashion house. with karl, when he gets it right, it’s amazingly beautiful and we should focus on his good collections, rather than the bad. he is a global influence with fashion and though i believe he should retire, i admire his designing skill.