1883-1971 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

[valentina_rocks]

thanks for the pics, shes so great

 

[laisla]

could someone please post or scan a picture of the start print dress Coco designed for Misia Sert? Is there any more infomation about the dress and why it was made?

 

[SomethingElse]

^ I looked for one with the clues you provided, and coudn't find anything. Do you have any more information, laisla?

c. 1965, printed gold/silver brocade.

imamuseum.org

 

[SomethingElse]

About 1925, silk georgette, feathers.

imamuseum.org

 

[SomethingElse]

c. 1927, silk crepe, silk velvte and metallic threads.

 

[laisla]

^ I looked for one with the clues you provided, and coudn't find anything. Do you have any more information, laisla?

It was mentioned a couple of pages back. Karl Largerfeld used it for inspiration for Chanel s/s 08.

Ive search throughout this thread and on google but nothing turns up. I was hoping someone with the book that the photo appears in could scan it for me

 

[Boomer]

I'm so sorry- I have the book but my scanner is dead...

 

[DosViolines]

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (French, 1883–1971). Ensemble, 1922. Brown silk georgette with red, green, and blue stylized floral silk thread chainstitch embroidery. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2005 (2005.114a, b).

When Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel, first saw this ensemble, he immediately lifted its hem and examined the reverse of the lavish embroidery. “This is not handwork. It is machine,” he declared. The curators had dated the piece to the period of Gabrielle Chanel’s association with the Kitmir embroidery firm of Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, the sister of Grand Duke Dmitri, Chanel’s lover at the time. According to popular lore, the Kitmir firm was established so that the aristocratic women in the expatriate White Russian community might profit from their fine hand-sewing skills. Lagerfeld’s observation, then, created some confusion about the authenticity and dating of a piece that should have been the expression of the needleworking skills of the Kitmir ladies.

Eventually, however, research revealed that while Kitmir began with time- and labor-intensive hand stitching, Chanel had been immediately dismissive of the benefits of such efforts and had purchased three machines for her paramour’s sister so that the grand duchess might produce her embroideries more efficiently. This subordination of the value of handwork where it provided no additional aesthetic value may be seen as a manifestation of Chanel’s businesslike approach to fashion: decorative appeal had its own rationalization, whether in fake jewelry or folkloric embroideries. Artisanal effects for Chanel were not diminished by the fact that they were the product of industrial processes.

This is a rare model from Chanel’s Russian collection. The embroideries, inspired by folkloric Russia, were done by the Kitmir atelier, a workshop specializing in Russian embroideries, founded in Paris by Princess Maria Pavlovna, who was the sister of Grand Duke Dimitri. Almost nothing exists from this 1920s Chanel collection.
—Karl Lagerfeld​

blog.mode
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[Boomer]

^^ OMG- Can you imagine all of those beautiful things are forever gone!!

 

[SomethingElse]

Coinciding with the relaunch of Chanel's flagship Paris boutique, 18 Place Vendome, VogueTV became one of the first camera crews ever allowed into Coco Chanel's very own apartment. See the latest jewellery collection, inspired by some of Coco's original diamond designs, as it is unveiled, and witness the artwork and superstitions that made such a legendary designer tick. Vogue's jewellery editor, Carol Woolton, hosts our exclusive film and finds out why Chanel collected ornamental lions, how she brought diamonds back into fashion, how the quilted bag was inspired by her suede sofa, and why the number five became her lucky number.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xpinr4Uts-8

 

[Boomer]

Nice little article

http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/02/05/lifestyle/lifestyle_30064398.php

 

[Boomer]

Hotel Pierre New York, March 1931 (Gettty)

 

[Boomer]

Fun video of Karl's first Chanel show- very, very Coco inspired!! Love it!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzb2gdZ3fi8

 

[cocolicious]

just wanted to revive this thread....i need more more more !!!! it's so great

 

[Boomer]

Coco, you're so right!! I'll try to help get the ball rolling again as soon as I can dig some stuff up!!

 

[cocolicious]

I don't think Coco Chanel would appreciate it. Chanel was, when Coco created it, extremely sophisticated, minimalistic and avant-garde. Lagerfeld's clothes are only "classics with a twist", which in this case seems to mean making Coco's clothes and original ideas looking awful with adding tulle and sequins and what not. I somehow see many of Lagerfeld's collections as boring and a little bit chauvinistic, when Chanel was interesting and was the designer to create more "free" clothing to women. Chanel had class when Coco was there. Now it's merely a house which sells clothes with a logo that has status.

i totally agree with this...sometimes i see the things lagerfeld makes for the line and think of how coco must be rolling in her grave!!! she was truly an innovator that I believe all modern women must be thankful too...

on a side note...the best children's book ever =P

 

[Boomer]

I have that book!! It is a wonderful book- perfect for anyone but for a young girl especially!! Great stuff! And after reading the Beautiful Fall and about Karl's early years, it applies to him as well- he has always been... Different...

 

[Boomer]

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

"And in other fashion news: Cabaret singer Andrea Marcovicci plays Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in the revival of the Andre Previn and Alan J. Lerner 1969 musical "Coco" (originally starring Kate Hepburn), based on the great designer's comeback in the 1950s.
Thanks to Karl Lagerfeld, the Chanel brand is as much a household word today as it was in the 1920s, when Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion with her softly structured jackets and skirts.
America is having a Chanel moment right now: Shirley MacLaine plays the older Chanel in a forthcoming Lifetime TV biopic, and Audrey Tautou is scheduled to portray the designer as a younger woman in a new French film on the big screen."

I have no idea when the Shirley MacLaine film will be made but the Audrey one is still in "pre-production" they say, which makes it about a year of pre production now...
I have a CD of the musical, btw, it's pretty good but not as great as you would expect with the big time talent it had behind it...Amazon has copies if anyone should be interested!

 

[Boomer]

Pretty long article about the musical if anyone should be interested:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/DDDH1081SO.DTL
Katharine Hepburn played Coco Chanel in the 1969 Broadway musical "Coco" -- despite her weak voice and her disdain for fashion. Associated Press photo, 1969

 

[我是咪斯饭]

she must has magical power to make CHANEL!