Exhibition: The Chic Geek Visits the V&A Museum’s Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
Don’t go for the clothes – they are pretty, but a reminder that Chanel doesn’t have any definitive iconic items like say a YSL Mondrian dress or a Le Smoking – go for the birth and foundation of a megabrand. The exhibition encapsulates the power and commercial importance of perfume and something everybody from a queen – there’s a letter from Queen Elizabeth II thanking for a gifted bottle of No.5 – downwards can buy.
One of the most interesting takeaways is the revelation that the Chanel No.5 bottle was based on the Place Vendôme in Paris.
The Wertheimer family, who still own Chanel, were Coco’s original perfume partners and helped her relaunch couture in the 1950s and the subsequent brand we know today. They understood the importance of clothes and fashion...