Veteran model Claudia Schiffer stars in the Chanel Fall 2011 Eyewear Campaign photographed by Karl Lagerfeld.

The new collection’s sunglasses and eyeglasses feature the chain handle of the brand’s iconic handbags woven with a strip of lambskin to form the temples.

Karl Lagerfeld has collaborated with Orrefors, the Swedish glass makers to create a collection of crystal including bowls, vases; wine, water and liqueur glasses and, naturally, champagne flutes.

The Orrefors brand is known for gracing the tables at the Swedish Royal Palace.

The glasses are hand-blown and Lagerfeld’s line will come in black, milky white and clear crystal, some engraved with the designer’s initials.

It takes a lot of time and dedication for a luxury brand to establish an ‘it’ bag along the lines of a Mulberry Alexa or a Hermès Kelly bag, but when Chanel launches a whole new handbag range, you can be almost certain, they will be instant classics.

The new collection will draw inspiration from an androgynous style based on a hunter’s cartridge that founder Coco Chanel used to wear herself.

“Chanel used men’s underwear to make dresses,” the house’s creative director Karl Lagerfeld explained. “She had this boyish attitude, in fact it is the very spirit of Chanel. She got it from Boy Capel, the great love of her life…”

Japan’s biggest clothes retailer continues to take the lead in relief efforts following the country’s earthquake and tsunami disaster, partnering with a star-studded cast of designers for a new t-shirt collection.

Uniqlo, whose CEO Tadashi Yanai already donated $12 million of his own money and a lot more in clothes, will release a range of ten new designs June 25.

Prints will consist of drawings and scripts, crafted by the likes of Lady Gaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, Blake Lively, Charlize Theron, Cyndi Lauper, Victoria Beckham, and Orlando Bloom.

Celebrities including Vanessa Paradis, Blake Lively, and Rachel Bilson looked on as Karl Lagerfeld showed his annual Croisière collection at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes on the French Riviera on May 9.

For anyone whose invitation to Chanel’s resort show in the South of France on May 9 got lost in the mail, its creative head Karl Lagerfeld will release a new short film, showcasing the cruise collection in a dramatic surrounding.

A teaser released May 5 depicts “friends of the House” including French actress Anna Mouglalis, American model Kristen McMenamy, fashion empress Amanda Harlech, models Freja Beha Erichsen, Bianca Balti and Baptiste Giabiconi.

All are putting their best acting skills forward in this new trailer that seems to revolve around a dysfunctional, affluent family whiling away their time in chic casinos.