In this series of blog posts, Circa Vintage takes a dive into the history of some of our favourite fashion designers. Today, it's the turn of iconic French couturière Coco Chanel.
Founded in Paris in 1910, Chanel is one of the world’s most coveted luxury designer brands. Coco Chanel is today known as one of the most groundbreaking and influential style icons of all time. The French designer rose to prominence for creating comfortable, casual clothes for women in the 1920s which moved fashions away from constricting corsets. Designed by the founder herself, the brand's interlocking double-C insignia is one of the most recognisable logos in the world.
Coco Chanel is famously quoted as saying "fashion fades; only style remains the same" and many of her creations - from perfume to suit jackets to handbags - remain iconic classics that appeal to women of all ages. In 1925, Chanel introduced the skirt suit which took inspiration from men's casual and sportswear styles of the day. Still seen as the epitome of understated elegance and low-key wealth, vintage Chanel suits remain much sought-after.
Chanel was famously headed by Karl Lagerfeld from 1983 to 2019. Lagerfeld played on house signatures created by Chanel herself, creating multiple collections a year that reinvented the classics again and again. Tweed, monochrome, pearls, two-tone shoes, quilted bags, that interlocking C logo, were all seen as though with fresh eyes, year-upon-year. Under Lagerfeld, Chanel established itself as the pinacle of the luxury fashion market, where it remains to this day. Since Lagerfeld's passing in 2019, Virginie Viard is Creative Director and the brand remains timeless, elegant and highly collectable.