At the Victoria & Albert Museum the first exhibition in the UK dedicated to Coco Chanel

The first exhibition in the United Kingdom dedicated to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel has opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum to trace the evolution of her iconic style and the founding of the Chanel fashion house, from the opening of her first millinery boutique in Paris in 1910 to the presentation of her last collection in 1971. The exhibition entitled Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto opened on Sept. 16, 2023, and will remain on view until Feb. 25, 2024; it is produced in collaboration with Palais Galliera - Paris Fashion Museum, with support from Chanel.

It brings together nearly two hundred looks, accompanied by accessories, fragrances and jewelry, with the intention of giving the public an understanding of Chanel’s pioneering approach to fashion design and how Coco Chanel pioneered elegance and how the Chanel brand continues to influence women’s fashion today.

The exhibition has been reimagined by the Victoria & Albert Museum based on the exhibition of the same name organized by the Paris Fashion Museum between 2020 and 2021; the London-based museum has added about one hundred new objects including sixty new looks. Highlights of the exhibition include one of the earliest Chanel garments from 1916, original costumes designed by Chanel for the Ballets Russes production of Le Train Bleu in 1924, outfits created for Hollywood stars Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich, and one of the earliest examples of evening pants and suits from Chanel’s last collection in 1971.

Through ten thematic sections, the exhibition aims to explore her innovative approach to fabric and silhouette, and analyze her professional career as well as the evolution of her style. The exhibition also aims to highlight Chanel’s British inspirations, such as her adoption of tweed, collaborations with British textile companies, and the textile factory in Huddersfield.

“As one of the most successful fashion houses, Chanel owes much to the designs established by its founder Gabrielle Chanel more than a century ago,” said Victoria & Albert Museum director Tristram Hunt. “We are delighted to partner with CHANEL and Palais Galliera for this exhibition, which offers us the opportunity to explore the origins and elements of this enduring style and to showcase little-known historic Chanel garments from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s collection.”

“Gabrielle Chanel devoted her long life to creating, perfecting and promoting a new kind of elegance based on freedom of movement, a natural and casual style, a subtle elegance that eschews all extravagance, a timeless style for a new kind of woman. This was her fashion manifesto, a legacy that never went out of fashion,” stressed Miren Arzalluz, director of Palais Galliera. “Her success was based not only on the functionality, comfort and chic elegance of her designs, but also on her ability to grasp and interpret the needs and desires of the women of her time.”

Image: Gabrielle Chanel, 31 rue Cambon, 1937, Paris. Photo by Roger Schall/Condé Nast/Shutterstock

At the Victoria & Albert Museum the first exhibition in the UK dedicated to Coco Chanel

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