On the anniversary of Karl Lagerfeld’s death, we look back at his fall 2000 collection for Chanel, presented in Paris in March 2000.
A year after Karl Lagerfeld’s death, we’ve gone back into the archives to retrieve the designer’s first-rate Fall 2000 collection, shown 20 years ago in Paris. The set wasn’t over-the-top elaborate, and the front row was more socialite- than celebrity-heavy (though Julianne Moore, Carole Bouquet, and Isabella Blow were in attendance), which threw the clothes into the spotlight where they belonged. Not that they were showy—they weren’t—but because they were keepers and oh-so-Chanel.
Fall 2000 was, overall, the season of the lady. One who had polish—and, likely, two homes and one eye on the fluctuating stock market. “With the Dow Jones and Nasdaq soaring and plunging like a late-sixties hemline,” wrote Sally Singer in Vogue, “it was perhaps inevitable that many designers would choose for fall 2000 to forgo fantasy and get back to basics—luxe basics, that is.” At Chanel that meant cardigan suits and LBDs, but also denim and active ski gear (this was before global warming made snow a real rarity).
Lagerfeld was, in fact, much more easygoing about the bougie vibe than many other designers were. He always delighted in subversion, whether of the house codes or the play of opposites, be that high/low or some other unexpected pairing. Look 42, a softly pleated pastel green chiffon shirt with softly inflated shoulders worn with a logo scarf and leather-topped jeans, hit just the right balance.
Upending Chanelisms was not Lagerfeld’s goal for Fall 2000, but he worked with the building blocks (as opposed to basics) with which Coco Chanel built a wardrobe for active women while adding his own touches, like whisper-light pleated skirts or midi-length ones of quilted down. (The double-C tights deserve mention too.) Asked to elaborate on his inspiration, Lagerfeld said he had been looking at and thinking about “early ready-to-wear, the end of couture, Courreges meeting Chanel.” More important was what he had been feeling: “It’s about the attitude of the early ’60s—my own memories of Jean Shrimpton and all the girls in those happy, easy days.”
For all of the joyous fashion moments Lagerfeld gave us over the course of his prolific career, we say thank you.
