Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010: Chanel and Armani Prive

The Lion King...and (wait for it!) Old Hollywood is BACK!
Roar: The Giant Lion at Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010/11 Runway show

Karl Lagerfeld and Co. just showed the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010/11 Collection in Paris and from the looks of it, it was business as usual--in terms of it being a Fashion Spectacle. What a quilted leather bag and perfume can buy you kiddies! In this case: A HUGE fashion show! And A TON of Young Hollywood. Front Row: Vanity Fair Fashion and Style Director Michael Roberts , NY Times' Cathy Horyn, Allure Editor-in-Chief Linda Wells (great pumps!), Suzy Menkes and actress Leighton Meester

Instead of HUGE quilted Chanel No. 5 Bottles (like last Haute Couture F/W Fashion Week), Lagerfeld filled up the Grand Palais stage with an immense lion. No, not because he was inspired by Disney's "Beauty and The Beast" or "The Lion King", but it represented the Leo in Coco Chanel. The show even ended with a Lion-headed male model escorting his stunning Chanel Couture-clad beauty (above). In terms of fashion, it was all VERY Fall: Maroon, deep reds, camel, heavy tweeds, wools and fur. Real fur darling, it's COUTURE.
A lot of his looks played with varying proportions: Cropped 3/4 sleeved tweed jackets with blouson-long sleeved blouses and below-the-knee gored skirts. Very Couture Dowdy. Not sure how front-row attendee Leighton Meester would look wearing this above ensemble, but if she wants, she would totally end up on the FugGirls site in a hot minute!For evening, Lagerfeld showed No Gowns (gasp!), but instead, elegant lady-like full-skirted calf-length ensembles like this fire-red satin one above, as well as...Heavily beaded shift chemises with matching cropped jackets. Love those Couture Booties! The House of Chanel isn't necessarily known for the gowns. Look elsewhere for that all you multi-millionaire Debutantes.

Click Below for Chanel Haute Couture F/W 2010 Runway Edit Video:


Armani Prive:Copper Pleating: Armani Prive F/W 2010/11

Giorgio Armani has always been the go-to Designer for Hollywood. It's been a love affair since his "American Gigolo" days in the early 1980s if not before. In fact, it has been argued that he was the first "non-Hollywood" fashion designer to infiltrate the Awards Show Red Carpet. For this Haute Couture season , he payed homage to his love of "Old Hollywood" and he had PLENTY of gowns for those Couture clients missing something after leaving the no-Gown Chanel runway show. Kass Sequins: Supermodel Carmen Kass, Armani Prive Haute Couture F/W 2010/11

It was all about Lauren Bacall-meets-Carole Lombard with a little bit of Sharon Tate-esque hair thrown in. The colors reflected the intended season: Lots of camel, bronze and Winter Whites. Thick tweeds, duchesse satins and LOTS of crystals...As in sequined "Siren" gowns worthy of any "Jessica Rabbit" in the room...or a future Academy Award-nominated actress. I have a feeling we'll be seeing some of these gowns come next February. His gowns and suitings had interesting pleating detail as well as a continued interest in the shoulder as seen above and below:
Razor Sharp: The Armani Prive Shoulder

So, if you don't have an Academy Awards to attend and actually can pay for an original Armani Prive Haute Couture ensemble, you might want to go for this day-suit above. NO ONE, and I really mean NO ONE, will EVER question your authority in this. They better not. It's worth the price of a BMW!

Click Below For Armani Prive F/W 2010 Edit Runway Video: