1963
GABRIELLE CHANEL
Suit
Spring/summer 1963 haute couture
Gabrielle Chanel, French, 1883–1971
Jacket of ivory and navy wool bouclé; skirt of ivory
wool bouclé trimmed with navy crepe de chine; blouse of navy satin-faced organza
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Jane Holzer, 1977 (2009.300.525a–e)
1994
KARL LAGERFELD
for CHANEL
Suit
Spring/summer 1994
Chanel, French, founded 1913
Karl Lagerfeld, French, born Germany, 1933–2019
Jacket and skirt of black wool tweed trimmed
with white plastic; shirt of white cotton knit
Courtesy Collection du Patrimoine de CHANEL
Gabrielle Chanel codified the defining elements of her signature suit after the reopening of her house in 1954. As seen in this example, the characteristic features included a boxy jacket of textured wool with a gold chain at the interior hem and contrasting braid trim outlining the pockets, cuffs, and edges; a coordinating straight skirt; and a silk blouse that matches the jacket lining. Conceived as a uniform for the well-dressed woman, the style revisited the tenets of practicality and functionality that characterized Chanel’s designs of the 1920s and 1930s.
Chanel produced versions of her classic suit until the end of her life in 1971, though these variants reflected her own taste rather than the fashion zeitgeist. Conversely, when Karl Lagerfeld was appointed creative director of the house in 1982, he predicated his design philosophy on the importance of change and translated the stylistic vocabulary of the house into what he referred to as “the current language of fashion.” This suit exemplifies Lagerfeld’s inventive reinterpretation of the Chanel prototype in a youthful and contemporary idiom. While he retains the wool ground, he has replaced the wool braid trim with plastic cord and truncated the skirt into an assertive mini.
Chanel produced versions of her classic suit until the end of her life in 1971, though these variants reflected her own taste rather than the fashion zeitgeist. Conversely, when Karl Lagerfeld was appointed creative director of the house in 1982, he predicated his design philosophy on the importance of change and translated the stylistic vocabulary of the house into what he referred to as “the current language of fashion.” This suit exemplifies Lagerfeld’s inventive reinterpretation of the Chanel prototype in a youthful and contemporary idiom. While he retains the wool ground, he has replaced the wool braid trim with plastic cord and truncated the skirt into an assertive mini.