I didn’t think I would be writing this blog…..I thought I had missed out. The Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto exhibition at the V & A Museum in London was so popular that it sold out and I didn’t act quick enough to secure a ticket. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t get chance to see it but then I happened upon the V & A website when I was researching this post on online fashion exhibitions and realised that it had been extended for a couple of weeks.
So it seems had lots of other people and the only tickets left were at 8am or 8:15am and I live in North Yorkshire but I wasn’t going to be deterred! I booked myself into a hotel over the road from the V&A and stayed the night before so I could get there bright and early and I am so glad I made the effort!
The pure scale of the exhibition was so impressive, spanning Chanel’s full career from her first Parisien millinery shop in 1910 to her final collection in 1971. There were over 200 garments, including a full room dedicated to over 50 beautiful Chanel suits, a room focused on her perfumes, a section on her jewellery and also bags and the classic two-tone Chanel shoe.
Its impossible to say which were my favourite pieces because each one was stunning in its own way – be that the fabric used, the designs or the little details which make each one unique.
There have been many articles written about the exhibition and for me, of course, it was all about the dressmaking! So here follows seven beautiful techniques that I picked up on throughout the exhibition which I would like to incorporate into my own projects at some point!
1. Notched collars / cuffs and hems
I have actually made a scalloped hem skirt in the past but this cream silk dress and jacket took things to a whole new level – really small, extremely neat rectangles at the edge of a collar and then also reflected all the way round the hem and cuffs of the top underneath.
2. Bows
So many pieces had big (and small) bows either added to the surface of the garment or incorporated into the structure of pattern pieces
3. The use of the same fabric for a dress as the lining for an over jacket
So a dress or top would be made out of a beautiful chiffon or similar fabric and then that same fabric used to line the jacket which is worn over the top. In some cases flower motifs had been cut out of the edge of the fabric to create an applique effect
4. Applique Flower and petal motifs had been cut out of a separate piece of fabric, their edges meticulously finished and then reapplied to the surface of the garment fabric so that they stand away and create a 3D effect.
5. Fringing – stunning dresses with swishy fringing perfect for twirling on the dancefloor
6. Tiers – There were multiple examples of the use of tiers in dresses. Tiered and gathered skirts, tiered frilled lace hems, three-tiered circle skirts, tiered fringing and probably my favourite a multiple colour tiered dress
7. Tweed – the use of this fabric is synonymous with Chanel so its an obvious one but has to make it onto my list
There was just so much to take in that my list could go on and on but I will leave it there! I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to see this exhibition – I think Chanel will be one of my all time favourite designers and the amount of dressmaking inspiration I got was off the scale!
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