The house of Chanel and its iconic founder have long been regarded as the epitome of chic. On the eve of new biography, ‘Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life', Bazaar talks design classics and the doyenne of modern couture with her biographer, Justine Picardie. She reveals her fascination with the author of sartorial liberation and charts her enduring influence on the worlds of fashion and style.
B: What inspired you to write a biography about Chanel?
J: I've wanted to write the biography ever since I first went to her Paris apartment at 31 Rue Cambon in Paris, over a decade ago. I was allowed to write part of my book there, at the very desk where she worked. I could see the score marks and scratches from her fountain pen.
B: Can you sum Coco up in three words?
J: Simplicity is luxury.
B: Can you chart Chanel's design legacy in five products?
J: Jersey: the skirt, cardigan and sweater she made in that fabric gave women the freedom to run, ride bicycles and drive a car. Black was hitherto the colour of mourning but Chanel make the little black dress synonymous with strength, survival and independence. Her Chanel no 5 was not only a scent but also the essence of modernity. Two-tone pumps are comfortable, flattering, and always appropriate. She adapted the tweed jacket from the wardrobes of her English lovers, Boy Capel and the Duke of Westminster.
B: For you, what are Coco's most enduring qualities?
J: The determination that took her from an orphanage to the heart of Parisian couture. The courage that kept her career on track even as her heart was broken. Her instinct for fashion and ability to translate her vision into wearable designs. The resolve that kept her designing until the day she died. Her independence: she discarded the corset and embraced the freedom and simplicity of jersey, trousers and the little black dress.
B: If you were in Karl Lagerfeld's position, what would you do to extend Chanel's style philosophy?
J: I think Karl Lagerfeld has already fully grasped Chanel's style philosophy: staying true to her spirit and simultaneously breathing new life into her brand.
B: How has what you've learnt about Chanel influenced or changed your personal style?
J: She was always true to herself and dressed for her own figure. She favoured simplicity over adornment. Hence,
I discovered that wearing a softly tailored tweed jacket with a
pair of jeans or flannel trousers gave me more confidence than a low-cut satin
frock and that a little black dress might very well take me further than a neon
pink miniskirt.
B: What unusual or lesser known fact about Chanel did you discover during your research?
J: She was an excellent fisherwoman. She spent several summers fishing for salmon in the Scottish Highlands in the late 1920s with her lover, the second Duke of Westminster.
B: Which of Chanel's collection is most memorable and why?
J: It's impossible to just choose one, but one of the most remarkable was her comeback collection in 1954 when she showed the suits that were to become completely characteristic of her brand.
B: Describe your most-loved Chanel item and when you've worn it?
J: A little black dress that I wore to the tenth anniversary of the Lavender Trust, the breast cancer charity that I co-founded after the death of my sister Ruth. It's trimmed with feathers, which always make me think of flight - and of my sister, with her lightness of heart and swift way with words.
B: Which one item of Chanel would you most like to wear?
J: The original long-sleeved little black dress that she designed in 1926. It still feels streamlined and modern.
B: Who else could you imagine designing for the House of Chanel?
J: At this point, nobody else. Karl Lagerfeld has made it his own, whilst remaining true to the remarkable iconography and language of Coco Chanel.
‘Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life' by Justine Picardie, published by Harper Collins, £25. Available to buy on Amazon from 16 September.
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