Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld continues to seduce the world's most stylish dressers with the Métiers d'art collection. above: A look from the collection. self-portrait by Karl lagerfeld House of K arl arl lagerfeld and Chanel Celebrate the latest Métiers d'art, a ColleCtion that pays hoMage to rarefied ateliers Creating the highest levels of Couture. by kari molvar In the world of fashion, there's Karl Lagerfeld and everyone else. As the creative force behind the legendary house of Chanel, whose Boston-area f lagship store anchors the first block of Newbury Street, the German designer, artist, and photographer works at a superhuman pace, turning out six collections a year for Chanel, as well as collections for Fendi and his namesake line, plus numerous collaborations. This means he spends countless hours designing the items that the stylish set will soon be coveting and obsess- ing over, like cropped blazers, f lap messenger bags, and cap-toe chunky heels. Yet of all of Lagerfeld's collections, perhaps the most dazzling is Chanel's Métiers d'art. Presented once a year, it's a celebration of the rich craftsmanship of the house's seven ateliers, including the famed embroidery creator Lesage, the milliner Michel, and the feather maker Lemarie. The clothes are lavish, and so is the backdrop. Since the Métiers collection debuted in 2002, it has been unveiled in such memorable locations as a rodeo in Dallas, a castle in Scotland, and a barge in Shanghai. Last winter, the new Paris-Salzburg Métiers d'art collection was fêted at the Schloss Leopoldskron palace in Salzburg, Austria, a location that stimulated Lagerfeld's imagination. Rumor has it that Coco Chanel found inspiration for the famous Chanel jacket in the uniform of a hotel lift operator in Salzburg. But as Lagerfeld charmingly points out, "Nobody continued on page 44 bostoncommon-magazine.com 43 Style tastemaker