One of the most challenging aspects for anyone assessing Coco Chanel’s long, productive life is how slippery its facts are. Coco’s genius for all things aesthetic extended to her own past. She couldn’t resist tidying it up. ‘If only you’d stop lying,’ Boy Capel, the first of her wealthy English lovers, once remonstrated with her. (A bit rich coming from a serial adulterer, but still.)
The work, however, doesn’t lie. Chic, revolutionary, original, liberating and instantly recognisable, so much of what Coco Chanel designed in the 1920s, ’30s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s is still not only relevant, but driving other designers today. Iterations of her bouclé tweed jackets are currently lodged in hundreds of other labels, from high street to haute. Ditto pumps with contrasting coloured tips, extravagant faux-pearl jewels, quilted bags… The list goes on. » | Lisa Armstrong, Head of Fashion | Monday, August 7, 2023
