Lagerfeld Gallery
PARIS, March 7, 2003
By
The Carousel du Louvre turned intergalactic for the Lagerfeld Gallery show, as red laser beams flashed and models emerged from clear beam-me-up-Scottie tubes to hit the runway.The proceedings opened with a series of strict black suits—jackets and waistcoats worn with crisp white shirts, leather ties, and cropped skirts or cuffed trousers, all as skinny as the man who designed them. The collection ran red hot—thanks to fiery crimson miniskirts and fringed cherry-red fur scarves that dangled alluringly down the back almost to the knee—then turned icily chic, as twinkling platinum mesh tops and embroidered silver overcoats made an appearance to the sound of a disco-fied Nutcracker Suite.
What held it all together were the impossibly high starched Edwardian collars—think Ryan Phillippe in Gosford Park—that the models wore with everything from suits to faded denim jeans from Lagerfeld’s two-seasons-old collaboration with Diesel. “It starts with the collars,” said the designer backstage when asked about his inspirations. “It’s not a historical reference or a menswear influence. It’s simply the idea of an impeccable white turtleneck that gives a clean, streamlined, graphic feeling to jeans, to T-shirts—to everything.”
During the final walk Lagerfeld took to the runway himself, in his own tight jeans, narrow black jacket and, of course, one of the mood-setting collars, his hair held in place by the same gleaming silver clip that had adorned the models’ ponytails. “Maybe it’s a little too much for me?” he asked well-wishers after the show. “Not to worry, Monsieur Lagerfeld,” an admirer assured him. “You wear it well.”
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