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Chanel

By Carla Bevan on Wednesday 23 January 2008

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Chanel Couture S/S 2008

Karl Lagerfeld's message was as loud and clear as the 66ft-high Chanel bouclé jacket he'd chosen to grace the set at the Grand Palais in Paris: couture is looking for a new, younger audience.

While the wearing of haute couture is traditionally reserved for an older clientele who have the fortunes (or their husband's fortunes at least) to actually pay the hundreds of thousands each piece costs to buy, Lagerfeld's latest collection appeared tailored for a youthful new clientele.

While all those Chanel staples were in plentiful supply – the bouclé jacket, the chiffon evening dress, the patent Mary-Jane – everything had a new, teen twist. Those aforementioned jackets (and who could ignore their relevance given the huge model version from which the models emerged onto the revolving catwalk) were either cropped and worn with cute little puff sleeves, or cut long and teamed with neat mini skirts.

The Mary-Janes – worn by every single model who graced the catwalk – were flat (quick, ditch your heels, if Karl thinks a trend is over, it's over) and perfectly colour co-ordinated with each individual outfit.

The party dresses, too, were just that: more suitable for a debutante ball than a dreary state dinner, although as a minor concession, there were a handful of full-length evening gowns for the more precocious Chanel customer.

There was just one jarring note in an otherwise perfectly-pitched collection: Lagerfeld chose to take his bow to the strains of Mirror Man. Didn't anyone tell him the youth of the day wouldn't be caught dead with the Human League on their iPods?

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