Coco Chanel by Man Ray Coco Chanel, the most famous woman in fashion history, needs little introduction. Widely credited with revolutionising womenswear in the early twentieth century, she founded one of the world's top luxury brands. Fashion historians argue that she was not the only nor the first designer to apply modernist principles to dressmaking. ... Read more
After making a surprise appearance on Parisian catwalks last month, Chanel’s haute couture running shoes emerged as the most viral story from the Haute Couture Spring 2014 fashion week. Many a fashionista’s eyes rolled at the esteemed French house, as if to say that streetwear influences in haute couture are blasphemous and inelegant. How do ... Read more
Emilio Pucci dress, 1968 Back in March I visited the Diana Vreeland After Diana Vreeland exhibition at Museo Fortuny in Venice, Italy. It was the day after the opening that was accompanied by an international symposium on Diana Vreeland, bringing to Venice notable scholars, curators and other fashion people I felt I should have recognized ... Read more
I picked up Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie in Paris during fashion week after the secluded Chanel store at Place Vendôme instilled me with a nagging feeling that I dared tread the holy soil without having done my homework. Before Paris, it was New York where years of fascination with ... Read more
Just as everyone wants to be French or British at some point in their lives, every fashionista is fascinated by Chanel. The tweed jacket, the Chanel 2.55, the cap-toe pumps, Chanel no. 5. So many Tumblr photos reblogged thousands of times, so many Christmas presents, so many unfulfilled wish lists. The only explanation I have ... Read more