Karl Lagerfeld vs. Marc Jacobs

I just watched Signe Chanel, episodes that show the preparation of making a Chanel hauteur couture collection. From Karl Lagerfeld sketching the designs to watching embroiderer at work to the making of the house where the fashion show will take place.. Well, it’s pretty full on!

Then there is the Marc Jacobs Documentary where they show us when he is working on a collection for his brand, Marc by Marc Jacobs, as well as a collection for Louis Vuitton, whose brand he is a creative director for. When you watch these two documentaries you can’t help but comparing not only the strategies that they use but also these two different personalities that reflect the brand and it’s image.

While Karl draws the fashion sketches by himself in a closed room where nobody can reach him, Marc teams up with the people of the company of Louis Vuitton where they all “think together” and share ideas of how they see and what to use in the new collection.
Karl would not step into the sewing room nor been seen with a pair of scissors in his hands. On the other hand we see Marc all over the working rooms where the clothes are made. Cutting a dress here, dancing with a dressmaker there..

What is amazing though is this older woman, Mme Pouzieux, who was Coco Chanel´s best friend back in the days and worked with her then, still works for Chanel today. But not only that, she makes braids (an old textile technique) for the couture house between the works she have to do on the farm that she lives on.

Lagerfeld definitely keeps the image of Chanel house not only through the clothes but also through techniques and the process of the collections. For Louis Vuitton, Marc spins from the spot, grabs ideas and styles around him and goes from there. With each working method as different from the other they both work and lets hope that they don’t change it any soon.