I’m In Love with the Coco… 13th October- 1st November the infamous Saatchi gallery in London have showcased an exclusive fashion event designed by fashion mogul, Karl Lagerfield in dedication to French fashion house, Chanel and its creator; Coco Chanel.
‘Mademoiselle Prive’ was the selected name for the exhibition; meaning ‘private French woman’ which intrinsically links to the iconic face of Chanel, Coco Chanel. The museum was re decorated and refurbished from top to bottom with Chanel’s aura and design. A created museum of desire, the walk in experience triggers all five of your senses and a little bit more. A Complexity of rooms were individually allocated a job to represent a side of the powerhouse, this included a millinery room with white woven French hats and a voice over depicting Coco’s early years of her fashion revolution as you walk through the walk ways . Another was the ‘jardin’ room, a green French garden area accompanied with the floral rose and jasmine scented hues which added to the traditional Parisian school atmosphere, which was similar to the school Coco attended to.
In addition to this, it would only seem etiquette if Chanel included their iconic magic potion ‘No’5’ in the exhibition, which has made the company millions of pounds since its exposure in 1921. A whole room features nothing more than life size perfume capsules that open and close by themselves with timing, which envelopes the room with steam and the classic Chanel scents brewing as you walk round. Another room displays some of Coco’s signature designs, falling gracefully off of mannequin’s bodies with nothing more than a spotlight beaming on a singular dress. Gold, pearls, diamonds and feathers were all acknowledged in the classic designs, which would be an epitome of experience for Chanel enthusiasts. Bruno Pavlosky, CEO of Chanel spoke pleasantly of the London event ‘We felt we wanted, and needed, to say something about what goes on behind the scenes; about creativity’, it seems that one layer of mystery has been unveiled from Chanel’s secretive flesh, but will the brand ever be an open book?
The Final showroom left fans in awe as they saw a gigantic silver diamond necklace rotating in a birdcage with glistening sound effects in the background, resonating Chanel’s signature diamond and pearl pieces. Mademoiselle Prive did not exclude modern day technology from its exhibition as a limited edition app was available for fans to download and view while in the museum to access exclusive facts, tricks and illusions. Although the exhibition is now over it was a memorable experience for Chanel enthusiasts from young to old and everyone left with a complimentary bag on the courtesy of Chanel and Saatchi.
Sophia Zenonos
