Chanel in 1998

1998


The 1998/99 Autumn/Winter collection was to surprise everyone. Just when people had become used to the strong identity of the Chanel image under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld and his team – the interlocking Cs, the characteristic snappy suits (even with the long skirts of the 1997 haute couture collections, the suits had a ladylike quality with the huge, teetering hats and bare torso under half-done-up, hip-length jackets) – it was still the dressed-up sexiness that one had come to expect from Chanel. None of this could prepare the onlookers at the shows for what Suzy Menkers, the international fashion arbiter from the Herald Tribunes, christened “Now and Zen”.

For Chanel, the 1998 collection was particularly interesting because of its departure into Deconstruction, its turning towards the East and the conceptual reinvention that it underwent, as witnessed in the daring little twists in details or, more often, lack of them. These clothes are to the 80s suit what Modernism, performance art to 80s corporate values, where buyers fought to pay inflated prices for everything from a watch to a Van Gogh. The clothes of this 1998 collection are very provocative and seek to make us question our preconceptions of fashion on the eve of a new dawn.

The striking departure from the main themes and signature elements of Chanel, such as buttons and gilt chains, shows how ruthlessly Karl Lagerfeld aims to leave behind the fixation on a golden age of fashion. However, the collection still stays in keeping with Mademoiselle Chanel’s love of Eastern philosophy; the riding skirts she favoured in her early life also make their appearance again in the suits of Lagerfeld’s 1998 pret-a-porter collection. The spareness of the clothing provides the ultimate back-drop for the jewellery collections, with some of the haute couture evening dresses taking their influence directly from the jewellery pieces.

The futuristic piece of engineering is designed in accordance with the principles of advanced technology. Weighing about as much as a feather. It is as comfortable as a pillow while still being a supremely stylish and very practical accessory.

The collection also features a khaki jersey jacket that is almost a copy of the jersey suits designed by Chanel in 1916. The tweed clothes with the wider shaped skirt are almost verging on the Edwardian but with a touch of the kimono shape to them; they also feature the cardigan “overhang” that was characteristic of Chanel’s first collection.

The Janpanese influence can be seen in the flat sandal with gold-painted feet, in the unfastened box jackets with perfectly cut arms and in the loose chain belt worn low around the hip, as it is worn throughout the collection.

Sources from Book - 《Chanel : key collections》by Melissa Richards