I AM A FASHION
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening” – says Coco Chanel. Coco doesn’t do a fashion, she is a fashion. One of her lovers, Arthur Capel once said: “You introduced the little black dress and pearls. What wonderful progress for a little peasant girl from the province”. Coco purses her narrow lips and goes on. Her bony hands, covered in a veiny web grip the scissors even harder.
“Dress like you are going to meet your worst enemy today” – says Coco in 1923. She feels that It is time for a change – a global bestseller to be born. The story of Little Black Jacket starts when she lays her hands on a piece of tweed. As Karl Lagerfeld says “it is the item every designer dreams of inventing”. “It is true” – whispers the ghost of Coco Chanel. She finds a way to subdue it, designing the first women’s suit with an upper part with a broad black trim, decorated with heavy metal buttons over the symmetrical outer pockets. “It is like a jeans or a T-Shirt. It is something that belongs to everyone” – says Carine Roitfeld. Little Black Jacket represents everything that is quintessentially Chanel – it is nonchalant and timeless. It is an adaptable garment to be worn by both sexes of all ages. Interestingly, her iconic Tweed jacket doesn’t stay frozen in time. She keeps on changing it. Each season she adds details – a chain, fringe trims, knitted reps cotton fabrics. Chanel’s infamous Little Black Jacket finds its way into the wardrobes of Jackie Kennedy, Romy Schneider, Bridget Bardot, Grace Kelly, Uma Thurman, Carine Roitfeld, Vanessa Paradis, Kendall Jenner…
Taking the baton from Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld enriches it and makes it feel more comfortable in the company of jeans and sneakers. He experiments with ornaments – pearls decorations and extruded knots and narrows the sleeves and shoulders.
What will happen with the Little Black Jacket after Karl’s death? Perhaps some fashion oracle can make a prediction. We don’t know.