Chanel: Collections and Creations

by Daniele Bott

Chanel's combination of tradition, originality and style has always made it the most seductive of brands. Here the House of Chanel opens its private archives, revealing a galaxy of brilliant designs created by Coco Chanel from the 1920s onwards, and now reinterpreted to become the motifs for brand new garments, accessories and beauty products. Inspired by the House's signature fragrance, the legendary ‘Chanel No 5’, the book explores five central themes – the suit, the camellia, jewelry, fragrances and make-up, and the little black dress – and follows the threads from past to present to show how these key items have been rediscovered and reinvented by fashion designers working in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors. This visual journey is enhanced by previously unpublished archive photographs and original drawings by Karl Lagerfeld, as well as glorious images from some of the greatest names in fashion photography. Dazzling clothes, intricate accessories, beautiful models and timeless design leave no doubt as to the lasting fame of the brand and embody everything that has come to symbolize the magic of Chanel. llustrations: 159

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Coffee Table Books, Art, History, Reference, Pop Culture

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jaimie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bott's examination of the Chanel legacy is neatly confined into 5 subjects - the suit, the little black dress, the camellia, makeup, and jewelry - which gives this book a well-organized presentation that serves to capture the essence of Coco Chanel. I found the writing style to be quite approachable, but it was marred by the off-kilter page design. Textual paragraphs flow between pages, which is fine normally, but in this case become separated by images and full-page spreads. Doing do causes the reader to either flip quickly past the images (a shame) or to forget the trailing topic (which makes for a disjointed thought process). They would have been better served with smaller integrated photos or wholly separated text and graphics.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite coffee table book!

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chanel has always and will always be a benchmark of quality for other designers and design houses to aspire to. In a modicum of words and a feast of images this book shows you how that came to pass and why.
The clothes, jewellery and other accessories chosen for this book are a fine example of the quintessential Chanel style, whether they be designed by the eternal flame that is Mademoiselle Coco Chanel or her supremely talented predecessor, Karl Lagerfeld.
This book is a must read for admirers of the brand.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars!!!!

Mademoiselle Gabrielle Chanel is both an icon of fashion and femininity. Our world would be a better place if there were a thousand copies of her running around. As an inspiration and a role model, it would be difficult to find anyone better. (Well, maybe Julie Krone, but that's another story entirely) This book is a good introduction to the life and work of this giant of couture and culture. Plenty of yummy illustrations for eye candy and educational purposes. Recommended.

[Netts · Rating 1 out of 5]

reads like marketing copy. focused primarily on largerfeld. vague chronology gives little sense of the evolution of the collections from year to year. rather useless.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun peruse through Coco Chanel's clothing, jewelry, designs, and philosophies. I learned a lot about her style, especially the camellia motif and why black is such a signature color for Chanel.

[Dave H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning photos. Went through this after reading the fascinating Sex and Suits and Vogue on: Coco Chanel (Vogue on Designers) by Bronwyn Cosgrave. The Cosgrave book has more information, more interesting on that front, and more illustrations. The Bott is larger, the photos larger - both have the excellent William Klein photo - the Bott presentation is crisp and preferred. Though there is some overlap, books are complementary. Where would we be without Chanel?

[Carrie Callaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photographs in the book are wonderful, but the writing is fluffy and platitudinous. The whole book flatters both Chanel and Lagerfeld, and fails to address any controversies that would have made the content more interesting. Worth buying for the pictures and for sitting on the coffee table, but not for reading.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro muito bem feito! Com informações interessantes na medida certa, para não desviar a atenção das lindas fotos e ilustrações. A edição, como um todo, definitivamente faz jus à majestade da Casa Chanel.

[Nermisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regardless if you care about style or not; Chanel is your guide to everything you need to know about dressing yourself, make up and perfumes from one of the biggest influencers in fashion world.

[Catalina Cid · Rating 5 out of 5]

El universo Chanel, en una cuidada y elegante edición

[Arlene Reinhart Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful coffee table book.

[Bizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST HAVE. If you want to collect some table books, a really good and a less expensive alternative.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers suits, the camellia, jewelry, fragrance and beauty, and the black dress.
More substantial explanations of early history would have been beneficial. Beautiful photographs.

[Manny Villa · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Robert Heller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photographs! A nice history of her creations. A really good read.

[Drew]

She was so badass. I appreciate Chanel a whole lot more now

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a nutshell:

This book describes the fashion design of Coco Chanel, accompanied by photographs of Chanel collection pieces. The book is grouped into sections: the suit, the camellia (Chanel’s signature symbol), jewelry, makeup and perfume, and the little black dress.

Review:

After watching the film Coco Before Chanel, I wanted to find a book that displayed her fashion designs. Chanel: Collections and Creations perfectly fits the bill. There are lots of gorgeous photographs in this coffee-table sized book. I particularly liked the suit and the little black dress segments. I skipped the makeup and perfume section because that’s not where my interest in fashion lies.

While containing some interesting facts, Daniele Bott’s prose annoyed me in the way it fawns over Mademoiselle and her fashion house. I speculated whether access to the Chanel collections had been given to Bott on the condition that she meet a certain quota of superlatives and gushing sentences.

Here’s a couple of excerpts (sorry I forgot to note the page numbers):

"No two camellias are alike, not a single collection uses last season’s creations. Sometimes, 15 centimetres of fabric measuring 90 to 130 centimetres in width is enough to make three or four camellias – what precision, what sophistication and elegance in the cutting, the mounting, the finishing!"

"The house’s perfectionism is apparent in the skilful combining of fabrics in typical Chanel style, transfiguring a black evening gown into a jewel in itself."

Now imagine the cumulative effect of a book where every sentence is like that and maybe you’ll understand my exasperation.

Oh well. I really do admire (and appreciate) Chanel for her design philosophy that prioritized comfortable, attractive clothes for women. And the whole reason I picked up the book was for the pictures. I was definitely coveting some of the suits and black dresses pictured.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

SKKS

[Rel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote a really long review of this, and it seems to have somehow been deleted. In my review I discussed the fact that the book succeeds gloriously at what it attempts to do which is

a) provide a good introduction to the subject (without going into too much detail), conveying the
1 - Ideas of Chanel
2 - Aesthetic of Chanel
3 - history/context of Chanel

b) be an enjoyable reading and viewing experience wherein form meets function
1 - beautiful, elegant photography
2 - good selection and arrangement of topics
3 - well written in that the prose is sometimes understated, and sometimes grand
4 - comes off as decidedly French

c) bridge the gap from Coco to Karl
1) ideologically
2) stylistically
3) chronologically

[Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are women out there that I'm absolutely obsessed with, and one of them is mademoiselle Coco Chanel. I can relate to this woman a lot. I'm a Leo, an independent soul, always sure of my likes and dislikes, I'm not afraid to be myself and I'm not afraid of failing, I'm not afraid of trying again, of being different, of trying new things, I'm not easily broken, loyal to a fault, adores being different in a subtle way. That's what Coco was, what Chanel is, and what I am.

Beautifully written, with 159 illustrations, 101 photos and so much history and information, about Coco, about Chanel and most importantly about fashion.

[Jacqui N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I am pissed...this book pays the usual homage to the past and present designs and designers for the brand, with descriptive text and coffee table book format...but totally ignores the handbags. That I cannot accept!!!

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collector's item, and a beautiful book at that

[Sarah Wizemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful coffee table book for Chanel lovers.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!

[Katie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty pictures!

[Amy Denim]

Interesting historical information and beautiful pictures.

[Stephanie McNamee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love chanel!