The Full Film

Without further ado, the critical masterpiece that we've all been waiting for:

I was expecting to be be delightfully entertained from second-hand embarrassment, but I actually think Karl made a decent film this time around. I wasn't cringing (that much) and everyone played their roles well. I guess no one was really playing too far out of their comfort zone (unlike Freja as a Chinese peasant girl) so that helped with the flow and execution of this film. Things were more believable and realistic, keeping in mind that the "reality" portrayed is true for like .0001% of the human population. But that's Karl Lagerfeld for you. It's about the glamor, the luxury, the unattainable, and the fantasy.

Would we expect anything less from the Kaiser? No, of course not. And that's what attracts us to high fashion. We can get lost in a world far away from our own. It's interesting that fashion itself can simultaneously occupy a very basic utilitarian role and an escapist role in our lives. It's operating on two ends of the spectrum, which of course brings me back to Freja and the many paradoxes that seem to contribute to her being: modern yet classic, commercial yet high end, distinct yet malleable, and so on and so on. I'm digressing.....I thought she played the Fairy role as best as she could and she did a good job. She looked gorgeous and I'm sure many girls are questioning their sexualities as we speak. Although I wish Karl would stop using her as a gimmick so much. But Freja's obviously more comfortable with it than she was at the beginning of her career, so good for her!

In any case, your thoughts? Did you love it? Hate it? Find yourself wishing you could teleport into Anna Mouglalis's body? Find yourself unable to stop drooling over Mark Vanderloo? Who am I kidding....I know my audience here, so I'm pretty sure I was the only one looking at him and not Freja. ;)

Videos courtesy of Chanel.com and FataleFashionII Youtube

The Tale of a Fairy

Chanel has just released the trailer for it's upcoming short film "The Tale of a Fairy." It looks deliciously full of lolz and I for one can't wait to see it. I need a good laugh right about now.....I think we all do after the craziness that life has thrown at the world: Japan, tornadoes in Alabama, Osama, etc... Freja plays the title role, which of course requires her to frolic around half naked, kissing random women. I guess Karl wanted her to feel comfortable with her role.

Anyway, the film will be shown Monday May 9th in conjunction with the Chanel Cruise show in Antibes. Us plebians will get to view the sure to be masterpiece on Tuesday, May 10th when it plays on Chanel.com. Until then, for your pleasure:

Edit: omg, Mark Vanderloo is going to be in this! I had the biggest crush on him when he did those DKNY ads with Ester Canadas. And I have to say that he's still looks amazing. Ahhhh flashbacks.

Diva

I think a lot of people are feeling some reservations towards the new VP under Emmanuelle Alt. There's no spark, no excitement, no surprises so far. Everything is....safe. Not only does that sum up the new flavor of the magazine, it also sums up Freja's first editorial for the magazine (under Alt) as well. When you think of rockers, music, the stage and gritty atmospheres, there's usually an underlying danger and anticipation of thrill. Yet somehow that's not translating correctly across the page for me.

Diva
Vogue Paris May 2011
Ph: Inez & Vinoodh

I don't know if it's the styling, the photographic aesthetics, or the hackneyed theme. There's just nothing special about this, which is kind of a letdown since we all know music is one of Freja's passions. Having her play a musical rockstar/diva would presumably result in something amazing and charismatic. But instead we get a mish-mash of flat (pun intended) photographs. Hello random yellow/black border on two pics, random color gels on other pics, and the occasional b&w pic throw in for good measure. Freja is the only cohesion I see here, but even so she's nearly overshadowed by all of the other elements. Maybe they were going for a "tour diary" type of theme with snapshots? If that's the case, then the story works better, but it could have been so much more. Especially since the first released image was so promising. Oh well.

At this point, I think VP is playing it safe and (hopefully) marinating on ways to stir up some controversies for the future once the magazine has attained full stability again. But I'm not going to hold my breath. On a positive note, it's always great to see Freja in VP. The magazine will always have a cachet signifying models who are at the very top of the game. And how great is that third shot with the reflective stage floor? Imo, that is the saving grace of this editorial, and that is what's keeping it from being a complete waste of talent like Freja and Inez & Vinoodh.


On an unrelated, but more lighthearted note, some more details about the upcoming Chanel video have surfaced.

"...30-minute movie called “The Tale of a Fairy,” with Freja Beha Erichsen, Anna Mouglalis, Amanda Harlech and Kristen McMenamy, which will be shown in Cap d’Antibes next month during his cruise presentation."

Not going to lie....I'm so looking forward to the delicious, laugh-out-loudness this is going to be. :D

Image Credits: fashion_screen LiveJournal

Acting Break

Remember this little gem? Yes, the Chanel Pre-Fall video from last year that had Freja portraying a Chinese peasant girl and a Chinese courtesan. Well this year we won't have to suffer through get to enjoy another brilliant piece of film making from Karl because WWD reports that he "...had no time to make a movie," for this year's Chanel pre-fall collection. So Freja won't be in yellow face, or black face, or some other face, to complete Karl's ballsy display of cultural insensitivity. And we won't have to sit through a laughable, but endearing in a weird way, video as we squirm with second hand embarrassment. In fact, it seems like this year is all about modesty and intimacy since the show is not even being held in some far-flung, exotic location as past experience would dictate. No London, Moscow, or Shanghai.

Instead it's being held in the good, old City of Lights.....Gay Paree! Rue Cambon to be exact. Tuesday, December 7th. So mark those calendars, because chances are Freja will be there. Gosh, I can't even remember the last time she missed a Chanel show, be it ready-to-wear, haute couture, resort or pre-fall. Maybe during the infamous SS09 season? Anyway, as WWD reports:

"After taking over every square inch of the vast Grand Palais in Paris for its spring ready-to-wear show earlier this month, Chanel is reverting to more intimate environs for pre-fall. On Dec. 7, the French house plans to show its latest métiers d’arts collection — a luxury rtw line made with the specialty ateliers Chanel owns — where it all started back in 2002: at its Rue Cambon couture salons."

So it seems like Freja fans will get their next fix in just a little less than one month. We might be entering into the holiday season, but fashion never rests. After all, the trends can't set themselves!

St. Tropez Fun

It was great to see Freja back on the runway again. Despite donning three disparate looks, I thought she looked refreshed, comfortable and happy to be walking. Then again, who wouldn't be happy getting whisked away to St. Tropez this time of year to walk on the beach and play Chanel themed Bocce Ball?

The rest of the cast was made up of a mix of old and new models, all who seemed to be having a blast walking (mostly) barefoot around the cafe like beachfront setting. No matter what you think about Karl and his designs, he sure knows how to put on a good time for everyone, audience and models included. (There's a reason why Chanel is the one show that most models want to walk.)

We saw all of the usual suspects walking, but we also saw the likes of Crystal Renn, Tanga Moreau, Marloes Horst and Veroniek Gielkens making for one very interesting, unexpected and diverse cast. But diverse only in age, body shape and industry experiences. Racial diversity was glaringly non-existent, which is especially surprising to me since we're coming off a FW1011 runway season that saw breakthroughs for a wide variety of girls from different backgrounds: Lais Ribeiro, Joan Smalls, Mengyao Xi, Sun Fei Fei and Carla Gebhart immediately come to mind. Where were they?

Anyway, Karl's full film "Remember Now" also premiered in conjunction with the runway show:

There is surprisingly little of Freja to be seen throughout, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it and taking into consideration the Paris-Shanghai film. For me, this film was definitely less cringe-worthy and actually pretty enjoyable. I'm going to attribute it to the fact that there was less talking and more dancing/partying. Taken for what it is--a tone piece meant to showcase the attitude of the collection--the film delivers and the models do a great job. Karl isn't pretending to be Spielberg here, so as long as you recognize that it's pretty easy to revel in the sheer entertainment value of it all. And I have to say that I laughed so hard when Uncle Karl made his cameo. Never change Karl....never change. And never stop using Freja for your work. It's something I've come to expect and frankly, depend upon. It's reliable and it comforts me, and that's a very rare thing to find in this industry that thrives off of trends and constant change. So even if I do complain sometimes, it's out of love and appreciation.

Your thoughts? Am I the only one who didn't mind the film? Thoughts on the runway casting? Did your favs walk? Didn't you think Freja looked good?

Image Credits: wwd.com

St. Tropez - 8 Months Later

Last week WWD and Fashionologie told us that Karl and Heidi Mount would be in St. Tropez this week to work on another short film for the Chanel Cruise Collection set to show in May.

"He’s zooming down to Saint-Tropez to shoot a minimovie for Chanel’s cruise show on May 11. It will feature model Heidi Mount and French actor Pascal Greggory."

Well it turns out that Freja and a handful of other models are in St. Tropez too, presumably all working on that Chanel short film. Pictures have surfaced of Abbey Lee, Freja, Heidi Mount, Karolina Kurkova, Leigh Lezark and Magdalena Frackowiak all walking around in what I assume are looks from the upcoming Cruise show:

Curiously missing from Karl's crew is Baptiste. But perhaps he's still hard at work on that upcoming album. That's the only reason I can come up with for his absence at both last month's Chanel campaign shoot and this month's set in St. Tropez.

I have all my extremities and appendages crossed in the hopes that this film will be better and more culturally sensitive than the last Chanel short film that Karl did for the Paris-Shanghai Pre-Fall Collection. Not that we have much to go by from the pictures above, but things are looking good so far.

Oh, and as the title of this post says, Freja was in St. Tropez about 8 months ago if you can remember. She was there last August with Karl, but I really can't recall why.

It must be nice to be a part of Karl's entourage. Gotta wonder though--with the Cruise collection showing on May 11th, and most European air travel currently debilitated by a cloud of volcanic ash, will Freja, Karl, Heidi and co. just stay in St. Tropez for the rest of the month? And since Leigh and Karolina are also in the film (and not Chanel runway regulars), can we expect to see them walk the Cruise runway as well? Sometimes the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. Oh well. At least we know what Abbey, Freja, Heidi and Magdalena will be doing May 11th.

Image Credits: bauergriffin via VogueElle Addict @ tFS, fashionologie, plejada.pl via slow_hands @ tfS, WENN via ERIKIMISUN @ tFS