It was tweeted and covered by many a fashion journalist that this collection was all about the mixing of Paris and Rome and the techniques that each city is known for. I think that there is obvious truth in that idea because Chanel, a Parisian house that's been around for more than a hundred years, held this show in Rome. However, I think that some posts about the show by professionals doesn't match up all the way with the collection and the actual CLOTHES that were being presented. The scenery for the show, however, which you can never NOT talk about with a Chanel show, was of epic proportions. There was an entire set of black and white cinematic places like a boulangerie and the outside of a movie theatre named "Cinema Le Paris". I know now that I am a little late to the party, but with this I really see the shift with big houses like this towards their "in between" collections like the Resort and Pre-Fall collections. Rather than having their Haute Couture collections or even their Ready-to-Wear collections, more of the creativity and the effort seems to be going towards this new, sort of strange, collections that you used to think were only for commercial gain. But this collection was a true extravaganza. A total of more than 80 looks in mostly black and white were shown. Of course there was a little color, like the dark oranges, pinks, and navies throughout the show. A mixture of fine jewelry, couture-like beadwork, fishnet stockings, and quirky and highly covetable bags all mixed together with great dramatic eye makeup created something I could not look away from. I especially love the ringed collars and bracelets that added a little punk to the catwalk. There were also boys on the catwalk, something I absolutely love and have talked about before. Specifically, on my review of the Maison Margiela Spring 2016 show where John Galliano too showed men on a womenswear catwalk. These few looks were very interesting to me because of the mixture of things like the iconic and classic Chanel tweed suits into a menswear suits, skirt and all, and billowing white silk and pearls into dress shirts. Everything about this collection was fantastic and truly showed the modern theatricality of fashion without being tacky.
