Chanel costume

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Chanel costume, late 1960s, with the gold chain sewn into the hem
Lilac Chanel costume, 1965

The Chanel costume (in the French original "Tailleur Chanel") was presented on February 5, 1954 by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel on the occasion of the opening of her Parisian fashion salon. The simple, straight cut, the fabrics used and the characteristic accessories are the hallmarks of the Chanel costume , which has been preserved in its basic shape since the 1950s despite numerous variants and modifications.

history

The origins of the costume lie in a model with a short cardigan jacket that Coco Chanel had designed in 1925 from English tweed . With the comfortable two-piece suit, Coco Chanel fashionably implemented the design principle form follows function . The simple costume made of mottled tweed, wool jersey , bouclé or bourette silk consists of a box-shaped, usually collarless, hip-length jacket, often with patch pockets and edges that are either quilted or edged with colored borders , and a knee-length, slightly flared, originally four-panel skirt . In the skirt there were hidden short pockets for cigarettes and handkerchiefs as well as hidden folds or slits to ensure the greatest possible freedom of movement.

Characteristic features of the slightly tailored costume jacket were the shoulder seams running over the sleeves, high-set, narrow sleeves that are cut so that the jacket does not slip when the arms are moved, as well as subtle shoulder pads that always guarantee a straight silhouette . Gold- colored chains and gold-plated lead weights were sewn along the hems to ensure a perfect fit.

The classic Chanel jacket had four straight-cut pockets at chest and hip height. Modern creations sometimes do without two or all pockets. The jacket is either not closed at all, with a button or a chain at chest or waist height, a mostly single-row button placket or a simple zipper . The lining of the jacket is individually matched to the main color of the outer fabric or to the corresponding blouse . Classically, a pastel-colored blouse with a wrap collar made of silk georgette was worn with a Chanel costume .

accessories

In addition to different colored borders and chains of weights, the costumes are characterized by iconographically recurring accessories. The buttons of earlier costumes were based on the material of the outer fabric, later the gold buttons or buttons in fabric color with the Chanel signet became the identification mark of the costume.

Karl Lagerfeld used the classic style elements and established the cult status of the Chanel brand at the end of the 1980s with the gold chains and the brand logo . The designer now increasingly used the classic weighting bands of the hems as an accessory in the form of large, golden chains as a decorative element for the costume, as a belt or as a design element for Chanel bags and hats. He also used the characteristic braids of the costume for other Chanel items of clothing and accessories, and he effectively staged the characteristic brand logo as statement chains and fabric samples for items of clothing, scarves and stockings. He also used the typical design elements of the Chanel costume in coat and dress designs as well as in fine knitwear.

Often one or more pearl necklaces are worn as jewelry with a classic Chanel costume , which - as introduced by Coco Chanel into the fashion world - do not necessarily have to be made of real pearls. The costume was often combined with the Chanel 2.55 handbag introduced in February 1955 , two-tone sling pumps and a pillbox hat to match the costume .

Cultural and historical significance

When the costume was presented in 1954, the 130 designs in the collection fell through as old-fashioned sewing works “by a philistine from the previous century” in the majority of the European fashion press. The customers - especially in America - however, enthusiastically accepted the costume collection, and in a very short time the two-piece became the standard item of clothing for the elegant woman of the 1950s and 1960s. The costume is Coco Chanel's equivalent of the men's suit is for the emancipated lady and sat down with it clear from the established in the 1950s mode of the of Christian Dior founded New Look off by wide swinging skirts, combined with slim-fitting tops and narrow waists marked was. Coco Chanel wanted to create a timeless, elegant piece of clothing that can be worn both day and evening thanks to different accessories.

John F. and Jaqueline Kennedy on arrival in Dallas on November 22, 1963

In 1983 Karl Lagerfeld took over the haute couture department at Chanel, and a year later also the prêt-à-porter collection. Lagerfeld modified and modernized the classic Chanel costumes: he varied colors, silhouettes, jacket and skirt lengths, used new fabrics and accessories, replaced the classic braids with fringes and presented the Chanel costume in both haute couture and fashion Prêt-à-porter collections.

Today the Chanel costume is one of the fashion classics. Public figures and international stars who popularized the costume included Marlene Dietrich , Jaqueline Kennedy , Brigitte Bardot , Grace Kelly , Romy Schneider , Ingrid Bergman , Elizabeth Taylor , Gala Éluard Dalí , Princess Diana , Inès de la Fressange , Claudia Schiffer and Anna Wintour . Although the basic cut of the costume has changed little over time, a Chanel costume can be dated based on the fabric patterns, buttons, accessories and the execution of the trims. Four to five-digit amounts have to be paid for a model from the prêt-à-porter collection, the haute couture models are correspondingly higher priced.

Chanel costumes are exhibited in many museums around the world, including the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin , the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne , the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Copies

Even during Coco Chanel's lifetime, the cut was often copied by numerous designers . Coco Chanel explicitly tolerated such imitations, as they contributed to the widespread use of this costume style.

Karl Lagerfeld says, for example, that the pink costume that Jaqueline Kennedy wore in Dallas on November 22, 1963 , was, for patriotic reasons, a true-to-original copy of a Chanel costume by Oleg Cassini , who bought all the materials in Paris, but the costume in New York at Chez Ninon .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b look! Fashion designers from A to Z - The collection of the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne . In: Patricia Brattig & Petra Hesse (Hrsg.): Inventory catalogs of the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne . 1st edition. tape XX . EA Seemann, Leipzig 2015, ISBN 978-3-86502-365-0 , p. 46 f .
  2. ↑ a b Cathrin Kahlweit: Women of the Century: Icons - Idole - Myths , CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 9783406421013 , p. 80f.
  3. ↑ Kyoto Costume Institute (ed.): Fashion - A fashion story from the 18th to the 20th century . Taschen, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-8365-5716-0 , pp. 484 f .
  4. ^ Ingrid Loschek: Fashion designer: a dictionary from Armani to Yamamoto . 3. Edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-56492-5 , p. 53 .
  5. ↑ a b Kathryne Hennessy (Ed.): Mode - 3000 years of costumes, trends, styles, designers . Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-8310-2389-9 , pp. 249 .
  6. ↑ Sabine Trosse: Stories in a suit: the retro trend in clothing design . Waxmann, Münster 1999, ISBN 978-3-8309-5782-9 , pp. 203-205 .
  7. ↑ a b The Kyoto Costume Institute : Fashion - A History of Fashion in the 20th Century . Taschen, Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-8365-3605-9
  8. ↑ Emma Baxter-Wright: Le petit livre de Chanel . Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-212-13545-9 , pp. 75 (French).
  9. ↑ a b Christine Waidenschlager: Fashion Art Works - 1715 to today . Ed .: National Museums in Berlin - Museum of Applied Arts. Michael Imhof, Petersberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7319-0165-5 , p. 276 .
  10. ↑ The Chanel costume | World's Luxury Guide. In: luxus.welt.de. Retrieved July 17, 2016 .
  11. ↑ FOCUS Online: The epitome of "luxurious poverty". Retrieved July 17, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Olivier Saillard, Anne Zazzo, Sylvie Lécallier: Le Tailleur Chanel . In: Paris Haute Couture . Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-08-128605-4 , pp. 254 .
  13. ↑ a b Ingrid Loschek: Reclams Mode and Costume Lexicon . 6th edition. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-15-010818-5 , pp. 147 .
  14. ↑ CHANEL fashion - prêt-à-porter. In: www.chanel.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Jackie Kennedy was wearing a fake Chanel costume. Retrieved July 17, 2016 .

literature

  • Maria Spitz (Ed.): Mythos Chanel, Draiflessen 2013, ISBN 978-3942359108 , 376 pp.
  • The first Chanel suit - 1954 . In: Design Museum & Paula Reed: Fifty fashion looks that changed the 1950s , London, Conran Octopus, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84091-603-4 , pp. 48f. (in English)

Web links