Lagerfeld tunes into right Chanel for style

No one who has seen the statuesque modern-day Brigitte Bardot figure of Claudia Schiffer adorned with fellow German Karl Lagerfeld's designs for Chanel can fail to admire his achievement. To re-interpret something as timeless and difficult as the simple Chanel look, without shedding its identity, is a huge challenge.

But the unpretentious flowing elegance of this summer's collection proves Lagerfeld has embossed the traditional Chanel stamp with his own inimitable seal.

Without a hint of the staid or stuffy, he has put Chanel buttons on bell-bottoms and made sports shoes look chic.

Anyone who expects the traditional little two-piece of the past will be staggered at how far he has taken the theme of understated sophistication, while using fun shapes, suede and shoes that are up-to-date.

Hongkong Chanel boutiques manager Ms Judy Ip has found local fashion gourmets cannot get enough of the new Chanel and has sold out of many summer lines already. She has even been so bold as to make a special request for lighter summer fabrics just for her Asian clients, because, even the lightest European materials, are too heavy for Asia.

Ms Ip makes several pilgrimages to the Paris shows each year, to select the clothes for the Hongkong rails. It is a job which requires considerable foresight.