by Grace Gordon

Karl Lagerfeld displayed a foreboding vision of the future on his fall/winter runway this year. His dangerous and unsentimental look at a post-apocalyptic world was enhanced by a backdrop of smoldering rubble (lit like an Ingmar Bergman film) and frayed, unraveling ensembles. Lagerfeld knows how to weave an engaging narrative into his collections and this might be his most audacious story told to date.

When fashionistas are left to dig through the rubble of a ruined city, this might be what they wear: fingerless gloves, shabby tweed, diamond pleated puffy Mylar jumpsuits, prim tweed cropped jackets over double-breasted blazers (the more layers the better!) and skintight skinnies paired with slouchy socks. The idea is that we’ll wear what we can and pile on the layers for protection, but the unmasked irony lays in the fact that this is at the same time a perfectly appointed Chanel collection. This kind of concept just about does one’s head in.

Fashion is always looking to the future, trying to see around corners and anticipate the next thing. It’s refreshing to see the Kaiser cast an eye over the state of the world today, and reflect his conclusion about what he surveyed (“The world is a dark place”) in his show. What he presents is an effortless, moody, hip collection that will spawn street style trends for years, but he does it with conscious intent.