Chanel Again

So I went back with my carte d'identite/passport to find out what the Chanel exhibit was really about as requested.

I discovered more exhibits upstairs I'd missed first go round..

And more historical information from the audio tape which includes photos too. More about Chanel's romantic entanglements/liaisons...

Plus a reminder that Chanel was firstly set up as a hatmaker.

Even her hats were revolutionary. Utterly simple compared to what went before. Apollinaire wrote poems about her hats.

Chanel's hats were the cherry on top...

The finishing touch. We've lost so much elegance haven't we...

Catherine di Medici was a heroine to Chanel. She owned this little portrait and followed closely the severity of di Medici's black and white style.

You always see more the second time around don't you?

What was it like to walk in her shoes..?

Or work in her atelier?

Upstairs there's a gazillion reference books to browse on big comfy sofas. And a room to watch all the Chanel N5 videos - a delight.

If you work at the exhibit you get to wear Vans black and white sneakers which are very in again... What would Chanel think?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

N 5 Culture Chanel

The N5 Culture Chanel exhibit is only on till 5 June at Palais de Tokyo

The exhibit focuses on the evolution of perfume Chanel N5.

Plexiglas display cases/vitrines reflect perfectly the square austerity of the bottle's shape. An explanatory booklet is given out along with a free audio tape (only if you have your carte d'identite with you). I did not, so was left to make my own assumptions...

From the get go Chanel's photos are so graphically designed.

Her use of her own dark hair, sharp distinctive features and slim body

Are the perfect packaging for her house of Chanel.

Such powerful personal imagery. Was there ever another icon like her?

Chanel's art collection and refined taste seems to mirror her image always.

A severity plus grace.

And lyrical lines.

Yet when drawing her it's hard not to notice she rarely if ever smiles. Not a hint of warmth or empathy, but always line and grace are apparent...

I read Hal Vaughan's Sleeping With The Enemy when it first came out - a detailed, historic, somewhat dry account of Chanel during the war years. Nothing like the expose on YSL and Lagerfeld in Alice Drake's The Beautiful Fall, one of my all time favorite books on Paris couture.

Still the pervasive narcissism of her portraits does give one pause...

And make one wonder about the real life of the original mysterious French woman...

Perhaps I should go back with my carte d'identite/passport and find out what the Chanel exhibit is really about non?

Or you can go and report back.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad