Gabrielle CHANEL

The Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, is reopening after a major extension project, to present the first retrospective in France of an extraordinary couturier: Gabrielle Chanel (1883-1971).

During the years when Paul Poiret dominated women's fashion, Gabrielle Chanel revolutionized the world of couture from 1912 onwards, first in Deauville, then in Biarritz and Paris, imprinting a veritable fashion manifesto on the bodies of her contemporaries.

The first part is chronological, evoking her beginnings with a few emblematic pieces, including the famous jersey marinière of 1916; it then follows the evolution of Chanel's chic style: from the little black dresses and sporty models of the Roaring Twenties to the sophisticated dresses of the Thirties. One room is dedicated to N°5, created in 1921, the quintessence of "Coco" Chanel's spirit.

Ten photographic portraits of Gabrielle Chanel punctuate the ten-chapter tour, underscoring the extent to which the couturier embodied her brand. Then came the war, and the closure of the couture house; the only thing left in Paris was the sale of perfumes and accessories at 31, rue Cambon. Then came Christian Dior and the New Look, a corseted style that she contested; Gabrielle Chanel reacted with her return to couture in 1954 and, against the current, reaffirmed her fashion manifesto.

The second part of the exhibition invites us to decipher her dress codes: tweed suit with piping, two-tone pumps, 2.55 quilted bag, black and beige of course, but also red, white and gold... not forgetting the costume jewelry and haute joaillerie essential to Chanel's silhouette.

Gabrielle Chanel.Manifeste de mode covers an area of almost 1,500 m2 - including the new galleries on the garden level. Over 350 pieces from the collections of Galliera, Patrimoine de CHANEL, international museums - London's Victoria & Albert Museum, San Francisco's De Young Museum, Santiago de Chile's Museo de la Moda, Antwerp's MoMu... - and private collections, this exhibition is an invitation to discover a timeless universe and style.

Admission and headphones included.