A glimpse into the revolutionary elegance that shaped modern fashion
Published to accompany a major exhibition, Coco Chanel: Roaring Twenties presents a richly illustrated journey through the designer's formative years along the French Riviera during the 1920s. This exhibition catalogue captures how Gabrielle Chanel-known to the world as Coco-shaped modern fashion amid a backdrop of cultural upheaval, seaside glamour, and groundbreaking artistic exchange.
In Deauville, Biarritz, Monte Carlo, and Cannes, Chanel introduced a radically new, elegant yet casual style for modern women. This catalogue explores her early boutiques, her revolutionary jersey designs, and her friendships with artists like Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. Special attention is paid to the influence of the Ballets Russes and the Slavic avant-garde, as well as Chanel's architectural retreat, Villa La Pausa, near Monaco.
Highlights:
- Accompanies a landmark exhibition on Coco Chanel's Riviera years
- Featuring archival fashion photography, original sketches, and historical documents
- Explores Chanel's collaborations with Jean Cocteau, Picasso, and Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
- Insight into Chanel's Villa La Pausa and her artistic circle on the Côte d'Azur
A captivating resource for anyone interested in fashion history, modernist art, and the cultural legacy of one of the 20th century's most iconic designers.
GABRIELLE CHANEL, known worldwide as Coco Chanel, deliberately erased traces of her early life. What is documented is that she was born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France. In 1910, she opened a hat boutique in Paris, followed by stores in Deauville, Biarritz, Monte Carlo, and Cannes. It was in these fashionable seaside towns that she developed a radically new style: simple, sporty, elegant - and liberating for the female body. Her use of jersey fabric in women's fashion was groundbreaking and transformed the way women dressed, establishing CHANEL as one of the most influential fashion figures of the 20th century.
CÉLIA BERNASCONI is Chief Curator at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco. Her work focuses on the intersections of art, design, and fashion history, often exploring overlooked narratives and interdisciplinary connections within 20th-century cultural movements. As editor of Coco Chanel: Roaring Twenties, she offers fresh insight into the formative years of GABRIELLE CHANEL and her deep engagement with the artistic and intellectual circles of the French Riviera.
The beginnings of Chanel's fashion brand lie in the
French seaside resorts. In 1912, Coco-then still
Gabrielle-Chanel opened her first boutique in Deauville;
shops in Biarritz, Monte Carlo and Cannes soon followed.
There, her simple, sporty designs met with a
cosmopolitan clientele who carried her fashion back to
the capital, Paris. In the 1920s, the Chanel brand thus
experienced its first heyday, driven by the artistic and
social upheaval of those years, the Roaring Twenties.
This lavishly illustrated catalogue documents in drawings
and photographs the extraordinary productivity of
the designer who maintained friendships with artists
such as Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso and others. In the
1920s, Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes were performing
on the Riviera. The book reveals the Slavic influence
in Chanel's creations, highlighting a network of correspondences
with female artists close to Diaghilev's circle,
such as Natalia Goncharova and Sonia Delaunay.
The book also features La Pausa, Gabrielle Chanel's
dream villa built in 1929 near Monaco.
GABRIELLE CHANEL erased all traces of her childhood. The only known fact is that she was born in Saumur (France) on August 19, 1883. In 1910, she opened a hat store in Paris, which was followed by boutiques in Deauville, Biarritz, Cannes and Monte-Carlo. Her line of jersey sportswear for women revolutionized fashion and liberated the female body.
