CHANEL (Part 2): The Maison's Evolution

This is the second article we dedicate to one of the most famous brands in the world: Chanel

In the first article, we left off talking about the iconic Little Black Dress and the very famous 2.55 bag. 

With the outbreak of World War II, Chanel was forced to retire from the fashion scene, but only for a short time. Her return in 1954 saw her victorious once again. Gabrielle was now a 71 year old woman who the critics of the time thought was a doomed woman, but in her new No.5 collection she showed the knit suit, the one that would be worn by many women around the world, from the most famous to the lesser known. Among them was Jackie Kennedy who, on the day of her husband JFK's assassination, wore a Chanel knit suit in a bright pink: thus, haute couture became involved with one of the most dramatic events of the 20th century.

In 1971 Miss Gabrielle Coco Chanel passed away at the age of 87 in Paris.  After her death, the fashion house was continued by Gaston Berthelot and Ramon Esparza, Madame Chanel's assistants, and then in 1983 it passed under the creative leadership of Karl Lagerfeld, an extraordinary designer who knew how to make the fashion house's style codes contemporary without ever betraying Coco's vision.

Karl Lagerfeld, the most famous and revered designer who has dominated fashion for some seventy years.

A contemporary fashion genius who created and shaped the very figure of the Creative Director. His approach is not reduced to the application of fashion within a collection, but goes beyond, creating a world that gravitates around the fashion house. His vision has helped broaden and extend the range of influence of fashion itself by embracing every other sector with audacity, freshness and irreverence. 

Once he joined the Maison, he managed to combine the spirit of the times with the original tailoring of the 'total look' - a concept created by Coco Chanel herself - in which individual items of clothing are less important than the accessories with which they are adorned or embellished. 

He often moved behind the lens, photographing and directing the campaigns of fashion houses under his creative guidance and signing fashion editorials for the most prestigious magazines. He was an enthusiastic partner who pioneered the phenomenon of collaborations between fast-fashion and luxury designers, creating a collection for H&M in 2004.

Throughout his time at the Maison's helm, he accomplished wonderful collaborations and successes while maintaining the status of Chanel as a high luxury and premium brand.

In January 2019, when the haute couture collection for spring/summer 2019 was presented in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld, for the first time in his career, did not appear at the end of the runway show, being replaced by Virginie Viard, his right-hand man.

His story does not end here because now he has become a LEGEND.