Les années folles de Coco Chanel

Gabrielle Chanel's Roaring Twenties were years of modernity. This book explores her work in the 1920s, focusing on the importance of seaside resorts such as Deauville, Biarritz, Cannes and Monte-Carlo in her creative process and the image she created for her house. Inspired by the story of Chanel's friendships with many artists, it takes a fresh look at the trans-disciplinary dimension of these collaborations and highlights the influence of Slavic culture in her aesthetic with her little-known Russian collections (1922–23), here brought into dialogue with the work of Sonia Delaunay and Natalia Goncharova. This exhibition catalogue also evokes La Pausa, Gabrielle Chanel's dream home, built in 1929 on the heights of Roquebrune Cap-Martin, next to the Principality of Monaco.

Gabrielle Chanel erased all traces of her childhood. The only known fact is that she was born in Saumur (France) on August 19, 1883. In 1910, she opened a hat store in Paris, which was followed by boutiques in Deauville, Biarritz, Cannes and Monte-Carlo. Her line of jersey sportswear for women revolutionized fashion and liberated the female body.