Runway Report: Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011--Chanel

Bouclé Lamp Shade Couture...

Freja Gives Tweed: Model Freja Bbeha Erichsen in Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

For Fall/Winter Haute Couture, Karl Lagerfeld, Creative Emperor of the House of Chanel went Dark, moody, and very traditional to the old-school 1920's/1930's aesthetic for Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The collection began with lots of those traditional and iconic tweed/bouclé suits which will make his devoted clientele from St. Tropez to Shanghai very happy. Most of these suits featured elbow-length oversized sleeves (as opposed to those super-tight, can-barely-move-my-arm Chanel sleeves). The peplum was a HUGE silhouette detail for this collection, showing up in the suits as well as the gowns toward the end. If it's up to Karl Lagerfeld, the Chanel Couture Woman will be in a "Lamp Shade" mode when it comes to this year's Fall/Winter season.

Lunch Ensemble: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Colors ranged from light gray...to silver gray...to dark gray--as well as black and midnight blue. There were "shots" of fuchsia for the client in need of more color than just four shades of GRAY. And of course, all the expert Lesage (it's owned by Chanel after all!) hand-beading and sequins that Chanel Haute Couture is famous for was there in almost each and every look. Beautifully done and one assumes, terribly costly. But who cares, it is Couture! Doesn't every billionaire's wife need a hand-made tweed suit with hand-beaded Lesage embroidered sequins to wear to her next lunch date at the Hotel Plaza Athenee?? Take a look:

Red Carpet Gray: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Fuchsia Office: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Gown de Peplum: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Going to Hollywood: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Le Sari Mariage: Chanel Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture

Click Below for Full Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011/12 Runway Show--Part 1:

Chanel Fall/Winter 2011/12 Haute Couture--Part 2:

Prince Albert and Charlene of Monaco Royal Wedding: The Royal Guest's Red Carpet!!!

Monaco COUTURE Red Carpet...

The Family...

Niece of the groom, the model-stunning Charlotte Casiraghi (seen above with her beau, Alex Dellal)--For the wedding, Charlotte wore a rose pink silk taffeta off-the-shoulder dress featuring crystal center front buttons and black satin "bow" sashes from...

Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2011

Princess Stephanie and her children, including Luis, Pauline and Camille (left to right)--Pauline wore...

Chanel Pret-a-Porter Spring 2011 blue tweed boucle with feathered hem. Pauline added a skinny belt to accent her teeny waist. By the way, I just wonder if Pauline can get to wear a $20,000 Chanel dress at only 17 years old...it's safe to assume she'll NEVER touch Zara or H&M now!

Princess Caroline of Hanover and her daughter Alexandra--Princess Caroline, a strong devotee and client of the House of Chanel (as well as very good friend of Karl Lagerfeld's), wore a rose pink drop-waist dress with sequined silk chiffon jacket from Chanel Haute Couture Custom. Naturally.

Euro Royals...

Denmark: Crown Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark--I absolutely LOVE the turquoise blue color of this front-wait tied dress on Australian-born Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The hat is FAB-u-Lous as well!!! Ten "Nick V Fashion Pints" my dear! Well done.

Norway: Princess Mette-Marit and Prince Haakon of Norway--Princess Matte-Marit's drabby blush-colored dress is not one of my favorites I must admit. It just blends in with the rest of her--it's just too close to her own skin coloring. She should have opted from a bolder stronger color. It's a "Monaco Yawn" for me...

England: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex--The Countess looks nice. But that's all I can say, really. As elegant as she can dress for events such as this, there's still something about some of the British royals (and sub-royals) that well, do not come quite close to the Princess Caroline's of the World. Somehow, they missed the "I-was-born-with-a-silver-Couture-spoon-in-my-mouth" part. However...

England: Prince and Princess Michael of Kent--This is one exception to the British Royal Family (along with Prince William and new Fashion Goddess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge). These two are always IMPECCABLE!! And naturally so. While I have a feeling Countess Sophie would rather be in jeans and sandals, I think the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent are thoroughly comfortable in "Adult Dress Up" clothes. The Princess is the definition of class in her jewel-blue silk shantung suit with THE MOST fabulous of sleeves (and boy! Is that a Necklace, kids!). And the Prince, well, just look at him! Tailored Perfection!

Sweden: HM Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden--Queen Silvia chose a lilac-colored mini-side gathered dress with matching colored hat. She looks like a Queen should look. And once again, King Carl Gustaf forgot how to smile...

Sweden: H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel, Duke of Vatergotland--The King and Queen of Sweden's daughter, Crown Princess Victoria is becoming quite the fashionista of Scandinavia and we see why here. I like the entire look; the sequined cap-sleeved dress is rich, impressive and still young-looking. And the matching chignon "snood" covering her hair bun is GENIUS! She gets another one of my "Nick V Royal Ten Points"...Now, her husband, once again, still looks like a Computer Analyst who was forced to put on a Morning Suit...because his wife told him so! Poor thang...

The Netherlands: Princess Maxima of the Netherlands and Willem-Alexander Prince of Orange and heir to the Dutch throne--Argentinian-born Maxima chose a bright stand-out color for the Monaco Wedding in this orange-yellow diagonally pleated dress with a raw-cut oversized flower detail at the shoulder. I'm sure the color was no accident sine in fact, it goes perfectly with her husband's sash.

Luxembourg: Cuban-born Maria Teresa Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg--Maria Teresa chose a nude side gathered crepe dress and stunning sequined cropped jacket. She does look much better than what she wore to the "William and Kate" wedding--yet still, she is having some wrinkling issues...

Belgium: Italian-born H.R.H. Queen Paola of Belgium and King Albert II of Belgium--The Queen is wearing Armani Prive Custom hand-beaded degrade cocktail dress, and taupe jacket with sequined edge trim.

Belgium: Princess Mathilde Duchess of Brabant and Prince Philippe Duke of Brabant--He is the eldest son of the King and Queen of Belgium (previous photo). Princess Mathilde is also wearing Armani Prive Custom, a violet princess-seamed sheath dress with attached capelet...

Inspired from this Armani Prive Spring 2011 look above. The Princess, of course, had it customized to her specific design standards and choosing. That's what one can do when A) You're a Princess, and B) Can afford a $40,000 Couture Suit.

Italy: Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont, heir of Vittorio Emanuele Prince of Naples, and his wife French actress Clotilde Courau--Love her bright coral organza ruffle accented sheath dress by Giambattista Valli.

France: Madrid-born H.R.H. Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and claimant to the French throne and his Venezuelan-born wife Maria Margarita Vargas Santaella...

Who wore a design from fellow Venezuelan-born American designer Carolina Herrera and her Pre-Fall 2011 Collection.

Russia: H.I.H.Grand Duchess Maria of Russia--DIVA with a Capital "D"--I absolutely LOVE this woman!!! Babushka Who???? Nope, not so much. She looks IMPERIAL in this flower-printed caftan-and-dress ensemble with a matching Kokoshnik (headdress). Something tells me I would find Maria, the Grand Duchess, at the Vodka Bar, having a gay old time!!!

Persia/Iran: Her Imperial Majesty Empress Farah Pahlavi--always one of the Best Dressed women in the World, impeccable style, refined elegance, as seen here in this lemon suit with satin piping and box-pleated skirt. The Turban-scarf is so Sheikha Mozah of Qatar by the way!

Morocco: Rome-born Princess Lalla Meryem, the eldest daughter and child of the late King Hassan II if Morocco and her daughter Princess Lalla Soukaina--both went the "traditional Moroccan dress" route wearing stunning takchita. The mother's (left) is of course, the most elaborate of the two while the daughter's is more "subdued" and understated.

Thailand: Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana of Thailand--looking beautiful and very chic in a traditional Thai dress--albeit, a very COUTURE version of one. Here's some DISH: After the divorce of her mother, she moved to United Kingdom with her mother and siblings. However, she later was taken by her father from England and brought back to Thailand. Besides the fact that she comes from one of the wealthiest Royal Houses in the World, she also studied Fashion and Textile and is an aspiring fashion designer and has shown collections in Bangkok and Paris fashion weeks.

Stay tuned for Fashion "Royals" at the Prince Albert and Charlene Royal Wedding in the next post...

Red Carpet Report: Weekly Round-Up--Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow

Belles of the Red Carpet...

Blake Lively: "Gossip Girl" star and this season's "Lagerfeld It Girl", Blake Lively, wearing Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2009 to the Green Lantern Premiere in Hollywood. This gown--if ordered--would probably set you back about $50,000. Yep, that's right--I think the "Movie Premiere What To Wear" ante has been raised when actresses such as Lively show up in Haute Couture kids!!!

She stars in the print ad for the new Chanel Mademoiselle handbag, shot by Karl Lagerfeld of course. I assume it's probably in her contract to wear Chanel and nothing but Chanel at her red carpet appearances and/or events--or at least some of them. Lots of actresses and/or Design Houses carve that out as part of their contract. We'll see how much Chanel Miss Lively can wear in the next coming months...hopefully it will all be Haute Couture!!!

Eva Longoria: Eva Longoria showed up in a mint-green lace over satin one-shoulder corset dress from Monique Lhuillier to the Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund Awards. She looks pretty and 50's elegant. Love those stacked silver metallic pumps! Somehow--as high and as prominent as they are--they still don't take away from the entire look. Notice how the runway sample on the right hits the model above the knee. On Miss Eva, it covers it.

Alicia Keys: At first look, I had to do a double-take! I didn't even realize it was Alicia Keys. I thought it was model Petra Nemcova originally (what do I know?? I was really off!!). But indeed, here is Alicia Keys wearing Custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Ricardo Tisci to the Keep A Child Alive Black Ball. So, let me get this right: It's Haute Couture--which means one-of-a-kind and hand-made and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE!--and it is also Custom? Is that redundant? Or just really really REALLY expensive!?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Actress, Country-singer/"Glee" Phenom and Spanish-language-fluent Gwyneth Paltrow is NOT wearing Haute Couture here (well, at least we got one girl!!). In fact, she's wearing a poly jersey "Grecian" draped cocktail dress from NYC fashion wunderkind Alexander Wang to the 3rd Annual Bent On Learning Benefit. Well done Miss Paltrow. You know how much I also love them Grecian draped dresses so you ain't gonna hear anything negative here...

2011 Tribeca Film Festival: Actress Rachel Bilson in Chanel Haute Couture!

Red Carpet Pretty of The Week...

Actress Rachel Bilson in Chanel Haute Couture Spring 201o, 2011 Tribeca Film Festival

Last night was the Debut of Karl Lagerfeld and Rachel Bilson's Original Film Series Inspired by Magnum Ice Cream (say what??), at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Actress Rachel Bilson looked soooo pretty in a Chanel Spring 2010 Haute Couture dress (yes, kids HAUTE COUTURE and maybe worth about $30,000 if she were to actually buy it!).

Karl Lagerfeld was there, in his black suit "uniform" and signature high-collared dress shirt and along with...

A flowery Anna Wintour (she is embracing a Spring 2011 Trend 110%!!!). I love a woman in prints, especially when she can get away with it! She's like "Umm, kids, I am here!! Step aside!"

83rd Annual Academy Awards: Who Wore What? 2011 Vanity Fair Oscars Party Part 1!!

A-List Bash Fashion:

Smoldering Blue Velvet: Tom Ford in his own design (of course)--Seriously: PERFECTION!!!

The 83rd Academy Awards wasn't the only "Red Carpet Game In Town" kids. Last night, of course, there were also the Parties! And the "Daddy" of all Oscar parties was the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscars bash held at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood. The fashions at these parties can sometimes be more entertaining than what you would have seen at the actual Academy Awards. Top actors, celebs, designers, agents and everyone A-List (who gets invited of course) vie for an invitation and when they get it, well, its time to don their finest. Some actresses did full-on gowns, some did cocktail...

Let's take a look at some who were A-List enough to be invited to the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscars Party and what they wore:

Kate Beckinsale: Kate looks AMAZING in this all-over sequined black gown featuring see-through chiffon sleeve insets. The black clutch and simple-yet-elegant diamond drop earrings finish off her look perfectly.

Emma Roberts: I love this dark silver-gray deep v-neck Jenny Packham gown with sleeves (a Red Carpet Trend kids) and "sunburst" paillette sequin detail.

Ginnifer Goodwin: Love the hair, love the dress, love the entire look! She is definitely "On Trend" with this black lace-and-red satin cocktail dress. She's kind of vibing "Young Hollywood Spanish Contessa". Chic and seemingly effortless; and perfect for a cocktail party.

Lourdes Leon: Remind me again, is she FOURTEEN years old? On a good note: I think Madonna's lovely daughter looks soooo pretty: Love the hair and flawless make-up. But... she looks 26!! And that sequined mini tank dress? And stacked pumps? Maybe the "Dressing Up Rules for Tweens" have changed and I somehow didn't get the "Uncle Nick: Catch Up!" memo, but...I sure hope fourteen year old girls all over the US don't start dressing like 26 year old women. Just sayin'

Speaking of 14 year olds! Hailee Steinfeld was one of the best dressed of the night in her Custom Marchesa tulle confection. The tea length dress was absolutely a perfect choice for this beautiful young actress and I LOVED that for the Vanity Fair party she traded her heels in for Red Converse Sneakers!! Now this is how I like my 14 year olds...the world is right!

Charlize Theron: Charlize looked so beautiful in this one-shoulder Atelier Versace gown. It was simple enough to almost be considered "Cocktail Party Appropriate" but yet elegant enough to be a Certified Red Carpet Stunner. The slicked hair, simple clutch and keep-it-light-on-the-jewelry look was modern. Bravo Miss Charlize!

Taylor Swift: Another "Fashion Homerun" goes to Taylor Swift. Perfect length, perfect color, on trend with the all-over sequins as well as the hair, make-up and open-toe gold shoes. Note to Miss Taylor: Keep It Up!!!

Emma Stone: Emma showed up to the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party wearing Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2009. Yep, you read right: Chanel Haute Couture!!! I liked this dress when I first saw it 2 years ago on the Runway and I still like it now. BTW: That's a $40,000+ dress darlings (if she were to actually have bought it). Chanel lent it to her for a Party and NOT an actual televised Award Show. It's official: the Red Carpet Dressing Game has DEFINITELY Changed!!!

Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week: Chanel

Black and White COUTURE Swans...

Black Swan: Supermodel Stella Tennant opens Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Show in black and white Bouclé suit and skinny black pants

Chanel Haute Couture by Karl Lagerfeld: The Spring/Summer 2011 Collection was VERY Chanel; lots of the traditional Bouclé suits the Ladies Who Lunch LOVE. There was a 1960's "touch" in the square shapes and minis but "modernized" a bit in the styling. For example, Lagerfeld put skinny black pants under just about everything. Couture Leggings a la Chanel.

White over Black: NIKOLAKI Spring 2011 sequin paillete cowl-neck tunic/mini dress and capelet over silk ziberline skinny pants

It actually reminded me of my NIKOLAKI Spring 2011 Collection and this fabulous little number form our Look Book on Model Amanda Fields: So coincidental, and funny! Well, Karl, my NIKOLAKI design partner David Paul (it was his idea) and I ...um...think alike? Nevertheless, I love it!

Spiderweb Queen: White with black beading coat over black sequin skinny pants, Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Trends: Skinny black pants over EVERYTHING; 60's shapes, boxy shapes on top, fitted/skinny on bottom; white, light rose, blush, sequined details, sleeves for evening.

Themes: Black Swan/White Swan

Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Highlights:

Gossamer Sheath: Light Pink sheath dress with sleeves, Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2011

Michelle Williams Oscar Choice Suggestion: Silver sequin gown with sleeves, Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2011

Shapeless and Modern: Light pink silk iridescent organza and crystal sequined
sheath gown with raglan sleeves, Chanel Haute Couture Spring 2011

Click below for the COMPLETE Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Show: