suit

House of Chanel

Summary

Black boucle wool cocktail suit with short boxy jacket, edged in gold and with chanel 'lion mask' buttons; matching slim skirt with stepped hem; ensuite gold lurex blouse with cuff-links. All labelled 'Chanel, Paris' and numbered 63512-63514. Identified as a couture catwalk piece from 1983 by the Chanel archives, and from one of Karl Lagerfeld's first collections for Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld (born 1938) started work in Paris at Balmain in 1955, followed by stints at Patou and Valentino, joining Fendi in 1967, followed by Chloe. In 1983 he was appointed head of Chanel, and in 1984 he started his own label.

Display Label

This beaded black silk dress by Coco Chanel (1883-1971) is typical of her early work after she had reopened her Paris showroom in 1919. As seen in the design below, the dress is unfussy and chic, exemplifying Chanel's work, and her success during the 1920s resulted in a multi-million franc turn-over by 1930. Increasingly the 'Chanel look' developed into a simple, relaxed and very wearable style with the basic ingredients of jersey dresses, cropped jackets, cardigans, and blouses with bows at the neck. However, it was not until 1960 that she launched her first braided suit, a garment that immediately became her trademark outfit. The two suits show below in brown and black are both Chanel suits, the brown one from 1981 and the black from 1983 with the original catwalk promotional photograph. The popularity of the Chanel suit has meant that, since the 1960s, copies of the style have been widely available and have enabled fashion-conscious people, often youngsters, to get the latest look at a more affordable price. The late 1980s suit by Smarti, shown at the end below, incorporates characteristic features of the classic Chanel suit. The short, loose-weave bouclé wool jacket and gold chain detail are typical, and even the gilt buttons are decorated with the imitation Chanel logo of two interlocking letter 'C's.