The ‘Little Black Dress’, the Chanel suit and Chanel No. 5 – all still part of today’s universal fashion vocabulary. Today, 90 years after the launch of Chanel No. 5, it is still the most frequently sold ladies perfume in the world. Join Vrije Academie art historian Carien Kanters’ lecture in Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and get to know everything about the iconic designs made by fashion legend Coco Chanel from the 1920’s to the 1960’s. Learn and see for yourself what Coco Chanel like no other understood: ‘fashion fades, only style remains the same’.

The Chanel Legend tells the fascinating story of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (1883-1971) and her celebrated fashion house. Her designs revolutionised the way women dressed in the 20th century. Chanel introduced men’s style and sports clothing made to fit women. The exhibition includes a range of top items, including original Chanel designs of the 1920’s and ’30s, women’s suits of the 1960’s and creations once worn by star clients like Marlene Dietrich, Romy Schneider and Her Majesty Queen Paola of Belgium.  

In addition to original clothing designs, the exhibition displays an original and touchingly simple 1921 bottle of Chanel No. 5. In her lecture, Carien Kanters will also focus on the role of successors such as Max Heymans, Yves Saint Laurent, Issey Miyake, Hussein Chalayan en Karl Lagerfeld – the iconic German designer who joined the House of Chanel in 1983 and has since breathed new life into the company by combining the Chanel legacy with the zeitgeist of the 21st century. Always respectful and ever stylish, he preserves the authentic ‘esprit’ of his illustrious predecessor.