Coco Chanel: The woman who designed first and foremost for herself

(Image: Gabrielle Chanel, Costumes for Le Train Bleu, hand-knitted wool. 1924 © CHANEL Photo Nicholas Alan Cope Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

Featuring more than 200 looks seen together for the first time, as well as accessories, perfumes and jewellery, the exhibition explores Chanel’s pioneering approach to fashion design, which continues to influence the way women dress today because Coco reinterpreted, updated and perfected her rules and principles, continuously refining her quintessential style.

Highlights include one of the earliest surviving CHANEL garments from 1916; original costumes for the Ballets Russes production of Le Train Bleu in 1924; outfits created for Hollywood stars Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich, and an early example of Coco’s ground-breaking evening trousers.

Coco designed first and foremost for herself. By creating clothes fit for an independent and active lifestyle, she anticipated the needs of the modern woman. Through 10 themed sections, the exhibition explores Coco’s innovative approach to fabric, silhouette and construction – a new framework for fashion in the 20th century.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “As one of the most successful fashion houses, CHANEL owes much to the templates first laid down by its founder Gabrielle Chanel, more than a century ago. We are delighted to be partnering with CHANEL and the Palais Galliera on this exhibition, which provides us with the opportunity to explore the origins and elements of this enduring style and to display little-known historic Chanel garments from the V&A collection.”

Spotlight on the perfect 10

Here’s what to look forward to in the exhibition’s 10 sections which showcase the skill and innovation of Coco Chanel:

Towards A New Elegance offers an introduction to the beginning of Gabrielle Chanel’s career as a milliner, opening her first boutique on the rue Cambon in Paris in 1910 and further boutiques in the fashionable resorts of Deauville and Biarritz. The section outlines how the success of this business enabled her expansion into clothing.

The Emergence of a Style focuses on how Chanel developed a signature style in the 1920s and 1930s. With clean lines, fluid materials and a simplistic colour palette, her understated designs were radical in their practicality yet displayed a refined elegance. There’s a spotlight on Chanel’s famous little black dress and Chanel’s British influences, including her adoption of tweed and partnerships with British textile firms.

The Invisible Accessory showcases the creation and impact of Gabrielle Chanel’s debut perfume N°5 which became the world’s best-selling fragrance. This section also explores the launch of Chanel’s range of make-up in 1924 and skincare in 1927.

(Image: (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2))

(Image: Gabrielle Chanel, Dress, cotton velvet. 1932 © CHANEL Photo Nicholas Alan Cope)

The Suit spotlights the defining garment of Chanel’s post-war contribution to fashion, with more than 50 ensembles. Described by Vogue in 1964 as “the world’s prettiest uniform,” the Chanel suit, which has since become a classic, remains a staple reference for fashion today.

Chanel Codes focuses on how accessories were fundamental to Chanel’s conception of a harmonious silhouette. Since the 1950s, the Chanel 2.55 handbag and two-tone slingback shoes have become two of the most enduring accessories.

Into the Evening showcases eveningwear as an important part of Chanel’s couture collections in the latter part of her career. From the late 1950s, she adapted her suits to include a range to be worn into the evening. These cocktail suits followed the same form as her day suits, realised in richly decorative fabrics such as gold and silver lamés, textured weaves and intricately patterned silks.

Costume Jewellery rejects the conventions of fine jewels to give costume jewellery a new status. From the beginning of the 1920s, Chanel’s boutiques offered a dazzling range of costume jewellery to wear with her sleek fashionable garments.

A Timeless Allure – The finale celebrates the evening dress as Chanel’s exercise in style. She proposed a relaxed version of the formal dress that was discreet and refined. This section showcases up to her final collection of Spring-Summer 1971.

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Marilyn Monroe applying Chanel N°5, photograph by Ed Feingersh, 1955, New York. © Ed FeingershMichael Ochs ArchivesGetty Images

Gabrielle Chanel, Dress, printed silk organza. 1935 © CHANEL Photo Nicholas Alan Cope

Roussy Sert wearing a long white sequin dress by Chanel, and a 15-strand coral necklace, Photograph by André Durst, published in Vogue December 15, 1936

Gabrielle Chanel, Dress, wool-jersey, rib-knit albene and metal. 1935 © CHANEL Photo Nicholas Alan Cope, Courtesy of Palais Galliera, Paris

Gabrielle Chanel, Dress and jacket, silk taffeta. SpringSummer 1926 © CHANEL Photo Nicholas Alan Cope