Gabrielle Chanel at work, 1962. Photograph by Douglas Kirkland. © Sygma / Corbis via Getty Images / VCG.
In the early twentieth century, the time when excessively decorative styles dominated the world of western women’s fashion, Gabrielle Chanel created garments characterised by minimalism and precision. She revolutionised the world of Haute Couture, liberating the bodies of her contemporaries with what amounted to a fashion manifesto. Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto is co-organized by the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of Paris, Paris Musées and The Power Station of Art (PSA), which sheds a new light on the timeless style created by Gabrielle Chanel. It shows how the techniques and materials used by the “couturière” remain the tangible proof of her choices and her radical positions.
Installation view of "GABRIELLE CHANEL. FASHION MANIFESTO", ©Power Station of Art.
The exhibition, designed both chronologically and thematically by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), with Jumping He as the graphic designer, is composed of two main chapters, respectively dedicated to Chanel's work from the 1910s to the 1930s and to the second part of Mademoiselle Chanel’s career, from 1954 to 1971. Her early beginnings are mentioned with a few emblematic pieces, including the famous marinière, the sailor blouse in jersey, which was introduced in 1913.
Gabrielle Chanel in front of her Deauville boutique, 1913. © Collection Mairie de Deauville.
The development of Chanel’s style is evoked, from the sporty models and little black dresses of the 1910s to the sophisticated dresses initiated in the 1920s. This first part centers on notions such as simplicity, youth, movement or allure, mentioned unanimously and regularly by the press from the start of her career. These notions, illustrated by a selection of distinctive models, reveal Gabrielle Chanel’s work specificity.
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1879 - 1953) at the Chester Races with Gabrielle Chanel, 1924. © Phillips / Topical Press Agency / Hulton Archive / Getty Images / VCG.
Furthermore, the exhibition aims to showcase the consistency of her vision, and to show how Gabrielle Chanel’s creations – garments, beauty products, accessories, jewellery – form a coherent whole and contribute to the unity of her style. Consequently, one room is devoted entirely to “N°5”, created in 1921 and quintessentially the spirit of Gabrielle Chanel.
Installation view of "GABRIELLE CHANEL. FASHION MANIFESTO", ©Power Station of Art.
The second part of the exhibition presents a selection of models dated from the 1950s to the last collection created by Mademoiselle in 1971. This selection shows how by returning to couture in 1954 and, against the trend, she reaffirmed her fashion manifesto. A focus dedicated to the famous braided tweed suit, to the two-tone pumps and to the 2.55 quilted bag, allows us to decipher the CHANEL codes. The costume and fine jewellery presented with lamé suits, in contrast with the sobriety of her clothes, recall her art in the handling of paradoxes.
Installation view of "GABRIELLE CHANEL. FASHION MANIFESTO", ©Power Station of Art.
The exhibition ends with a selection of models and two films presenting the last collections created by Gabrielle Chanel, showing the consistency with which she pursued and adapted her proposals. Faithful to her own style and positioning herself at odds with the fashion of her time, she was resolutely avant-garde: «One could say that Chanel barely or never varies her line but this is precisely her strength», reports Vogue Paris in April 1921.
Installation view of "GABRIELLE CHANEL. FASHION MANIFESTO", ©Power Station of Art.
Photo portraits of Gabrielle Chanel accompany each theme of the exhibition and show the extent to which the “couturière” herself was the embodiment of her brand.
The exhibition is an invitation to discover a universe and a style that are truly timeless, with more than 200 pieces from the Palais Galliera collections and Patrimoine de CHANEL, from international museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Arizona State University FIDM Museum in Los Angeles, the Musée des Arts décoratifs and the Alaïa Foundation in Paris.
Being the first retrospective devoted to the work of Gabrielle Chanel in China, the exhibition has the exclusive support from CHANEL. It will remain on view till 24 November, 2024.
About the Exhibition
Dates: 12/07/2024 — 24/11/2024
Venue: 2F, PSA
Organized by Power Station of Art, Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of Paris, Paris Musées
Exclusive Support: CHANEL
Curators: Miren Arzalluz, Véronique Belloir
Exhibition Designer: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Graphic Designer: Jumping He
Courtesy of Power Station of Art, edited by CAFA ART INFO.
