Chanel

Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel had an extraordinary influence on twentieth-century fashion. This beautifully illustrated book presents more than one hundred examples of Chanel's work and that of the House of Chanel following her death in 1971 and documents her lasting contribution to fashion and design.Essays explore her famous Chanel suit and "little black dress" and her use of sheer and transparent materials as well as gold and reflective fabrics. The volume also focuses on the grammar of Chanel: bi-color shoes, her famous handbag, fantasy jewelry, her symbolic camellia, and, particularly, her perfume. The book demonstrates that Chanel's designs were of paramount importance in defining the look of the modern woman in Europe and America.