Cacharel Spring Summer 2012 Review

Cedric Chariler is no longer creative director at Cacharel and was replaced by Ling Liu and Dawei Sun. The opening looks were underwhelming and looked cheap. Things moved on briefly to a pale blue cotton shirt dress with a tie waist that looked easy and smart but this didn’t last long. They ticked all the right boxes for spring: pastels, florals, sheer elements, but it wasn’t strong. In a season with many new designers heading up established houses (Carol Lim and Humberto Leon at Kenzo and Clare Waight Keller at Chloé) Liu and Lim need to have a stronger vision because bland separates for day isn’t good enough.
Also, wouldn’t the knock-on effect of hiring two Chinese natives to head up a French house bring a lot of attention to the brand in China? You can see the China Daily headlines now. Chinese duo wow Paris fashion week. Designers wave the flag for China at Paris fashion week. With China's luxury sector booming it would be shrewd to have a Chinese designer at a French house. You have to wonder.

Bon Voyage Cedric

Something that has barely made a ripple in the fashionsphere (I just like invented a new word so let's make it happen) is that Cedric Charlier, head designer of Cacharel has stepped down only after 4 seasons. And bitch was doing so well too. There's no word on why he left but if he's looking for work I heard there's a spot available at Dior.
So here's some images from his last collection which was so fuckin cool and understated and FRENCH. Ugggh, don't you just wanna drink wine and seduce men at a cafe on Rue du whatevs in these clothes?

Me Gusta

Above: Celine. Georjizz

Oh Katie, stop

Above: Comme Des Garcons. There was even some bewb in this show! Above CDG is Viktor & Rolf. 

Above: Soft painterly Cacharel. Above Cacharel is Carven. 

Hola! (that's Spanish for hello)

Well fashion week is coming to an end and on Wednesday I'm taking off to South America for 3 weeks. I don't believe I'll be blogging in that time. I think I'll just be a bloated disgusting tourist experiencing the rich culture of Argentina, eating steak and drinking way too much wine.

Unfortunately I don't have time to riff on all the collections from Paris so far. It's been quite a week. Not an article goes by without someone mentioning Galliano or how orgasmic Haider Ackermann is. I have a feeling he may be the chosen one to helm Dior.
Christophe Decarnin has a major case of the sads and wasn't at Balmain, though you wouldn't know it by looking at the clothes. Same old pants, t-shirt, jacket combo. I actually liked it, the ikat details.

There's also been whispers that Hannah Macgibbon may be out at Chloe. Now that would not surprise me. Some people dig her quietly glamorous clothes but I find them a little too quiet. A little too vacant and neither here nor there.

Phoebe Philo makes my panties ping yet again. I know some of you guys are like fuck minimalism but I just can't help myself. The leather, the chiffon, the rough fabrics, the new doctor's bag. She's so talented and knows exactly what she wants.

 Cedric Charlier at Cacharel just gets better with each season. For fall there was plenty of layering and expert colours. I love this collection very much. Sorely underrated.

Also, Carven, amazeballs.

Waaah, I wanna stay up all night and write reviews.

So what do I think after 4 weeks of New York, London, Milan and Paris?

CACHAREL SPRING 2010

I flicked through the Cacharel collection and when I got to the end I didn’t recognize the head designer. Cacharel’s been on the down low over the past number of years, it’s popularity waned with designers Eley Kishimoto doing their best to keep the label relevant in the early 00’s but to no avail. Belgian Cedric Charlier has been hired as head designer and I know nothing about this guy so we’ll gloss over that and move through to what was on show. Okay, I just Googled him and he’s done six years at Lanvin and a stint at Michael Kors. The plot thickens.
There were elongated shirts in white, cream and blush with neat little collars. The skirt shape was modern with pleats and the hem dipped low at the back. It just sat in a way that looked refreshing especially when paired with the stretched shirts and knit tops.
There was a speckled print shirt-dress that reminded me of a 90’s formica bench-top. It looks cooler than it sounds. Trust. Charlier squared things off with (what I presume to be hand-painted) coats and dresses. It looked like paint had been smeared on with a spatula. The colours were great.
Overall this is a fantastic debut for Charlier, he clearly has an eye for colour and proportion. My only criticism (if you could call it that) was that it looked like something that could’ve come from Chloe.