Suit
1969 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971) was a rigorous and uncompromising designer. For her, the total look was vital. This elegant ensemble is said to have been worn by Madamoiselle Chanel herself in Italy and Switzerland. After her success earlier in the century, Chanel's salon had been closed for 15 years. The re-opening in 1954 was greeted with lukewarm reviews. She revived her classic suits with the lines pared down to bare essentials, but only American Vogue magazine acknowledged their significance.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Worsted crepe, lined with silk |
| Brief description | Suit, Jacket, Dress, Belt and Hat, designed by Coco Chanel, Paris, Haute Couture Autumn Winter 1969 |
| Physical description | A black sleeveless, side buttoning dress with a three quarter length jacket with belt and hat. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Haute couture |
| Gallery label |
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| Summary | Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971) was a rigorous and uncompromising designer. For her, the total look was vital. This elegant ensemble is said to have been worn by Madamoiselle Chanel herself in Italy and Switzerland. After her success earlier in the century, Chanel's salon had been closed for 15 years. The re-opening in 1954 was greeted with lukewarm reviews. She revived her classic suits with the lines pared down to bare essentials, but only American Vogue magazine acknowledged their significance. |
| Bibliographic reference | Cullen, Oriole and Karol Burks, Connie. "Gabrielle Chanel". London: V&A Publishing, 2023
p 278
On 2 December 1978, seven years after her death, Christie’s auction house in London organized a sale of Chanel’s garments, compiled by her former assistant of 14 years, Lilou Marquand. The sale was not without controversy. Some close to the designer felt it was out of keeping with what she would have wished; others questioned the authenticity of the provenance of the items: the items were definitely by Chanel but did they all belong to Gabrielle Chanel? Yet, the designer’s legendary status ensured there was much interest and a great attendance at the event. Chanel was inextricably linked with the classic black-and-white colour palette and it was this black suit with matching boater-style hat that featured on the cover of the auction catalogue. The suit, Look 21 from the Autumn/Winter 1969 collection, consists of a sleeveless dress and longline jacket, originally worn with a white roll-collar blouse, giving it the air of a religious habit. Listed as Lot 93, it was purchased by the V&A for £1430. As with each of the garments sold at the auction it has a special label stitched inside the lining recording the sale. No pictures exist of Chanel wearing this suit, so it is difficult to confirm or deny its provenance. Regardless of this fact, it remains a timeless ensemble, as relevant and wearable today as it was when first created over 20 years ago, a perfect legacy of the strength of Chanel’s design credo. Journalist Prudence Glynn commented at the time: ‘It is impossible to chart pictorially the evolution of Chanel as a designer because she did not evolve. Rather fashion evolved round her. She created a look which was overwhelmingly successful when it was launched and which has left in-erradicable traces in fashion.’ |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.22 to C-1979 |
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| Record created | February 26, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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