Coco Chanel: Sewing A Trajectory

It can easily be said that Gabrielle Chanel did to clothing what Steve Jobs did to computers. Revolutionise and recreate with an intrepid tenacity. Recognised for its sophistication the world over, the house of Chanel is one of immaculate elegance and poise.

When the doors of the V&A opened to the Chanel manifesto in September, a staggering collection of suits, dresses and quilted handbags were collated to represent the life achievements of a fashion goliath. Featuring ten distinct compartments a downward staircase leads to a glass case with a white silk blouse from 1916 (one of Chanel’s earliest recorded creations) introducing viewers to the ambience and allowing them to embark on a rare story. The Chanel story. A story often dramatised but seldom told from the perspective of fashion historians.

Treasure troves of jewels, walls lined with perfume bottles and over 200 archival tweed suits and dresses all mingle in this glorious retrospective that help many to understand exactly how Chanel reimagined the modern woman. By crafting a simple silhouette, with humble shades of colour, and by accessorizing with only the most pristine materials, Chanel advocated for a rejection of all that was overt and superfluous.

Born amidst humble origins, Chanel, who learned to sew from nuns was once a showgirl turned milliner. When she caught the attention of aristocrat Etienne Balsan, the early seeds of the Chanel aesthetic were planted and not soon thereafter did she establish herself with a shop in Paris. Later on in the exhibition we discover how controversy tarnished Chanel’s reputation during the war years, a reputation that took many years to heal and how her legacy is still questioned by some to this day. When Chanel resurfaced later on in the 20th century her designs which were still familiar represented something new and dangerously chic. Chanel’s quick ascension to fame was in part due to her knack for innovation and for her simplicity. Interestingly enough it was fascinating to learn just how much of her designs were influenced by British tradition, thanks in part to her relations with the late Duke of Westminster and his Edwardian posse.

The exhibition, which is the first of its kind in the UK traces the history of Chanel from her birth in 1883 to her untimely death in 1971. The exhibition is structured in a way that allows for each room to supersede the next in grandeur and style and one of the most memorable acts (a colossal display of tweed suits) is used to cement the magnitude of the oeuvre.

Effortless silk crepes, chiffon and tweed…lots and lots of tweed converge to paint a picture of a woman that was like no other. The little black dress gets its fair share of attention in a room solely devoted to pronouncing its significance. Up until Chanel, black was exclusively the colour of mourning, and the display features countless dresses that Chanel designed to evoke a new trajectory.

With a dizzying exactitude, Chanel repurposed the female wardrobes of her day to transcend convention. The camellia, her favourite flower can be seen adorning the extremities of numerous garments, and viewers gain an understanding as to how her work was constantly injected with a sense of femininity.

Although Lagerfeld’s work for Chanel in the later periods of the 20th century was somewhat different to that of its founder, you can easily revel in the fact that there were surely more similarities than differences. Not a single mention of his name is made throughout the rooms, and the exhibition is seemingly solely devoted to Coco,

Naturally, the exhibition which has been sold out for several months with conclude this month, but thankfully a select lucky few will still have time to marvel in the wonders of Gabirelle Coco Chanel.

Words by Alexander Mays