I could never mention designers that
relate to Tomboy chic without mentioning Chanel since Coco Chanel, born in
1883, was the one how brought suits, masculine style, loose fits, freedom of
movement and sophistication to the Fashion Industry back in the days. Not only
she created that choice for women but she also embodied the look herself
creating her own persona making a statement that was often criticized by others
designers of the era such as Paul Poiret which was a young vibrant designer
very known at that time.
Her clothes wore informal, popular a very
modern. She set free women for the tight corsets that were so prejudicial to
their health and long skirts and gave them a fun and comfortable alternative
which result in widespread copies of her designs around the world. Chanel style
was known for its simplicity and practicality which made it easier for women to
move and feel more comfortable back in the days. She used humble materials and
mixed fake with real, something expensive with something very chip, which made the
garments affordable for women to buy it on their own without the help of men, she
believed that women should be able to work and pay for their things to win
their liberty. She was also the first designer to mark a perfume.
Pictures of Coco Chanel taken from Fashion & Modernity lecture slideshows
In 1983 Karl Lagerfeld took over as chief designer for Chanel and he's
been there ever since. I believe he kept Chanel signature looks but also
incorporated some modernity and innovation to it to keep it trendy, and even though
Chanel clothes is not really my style because I’m not very fan of suits I have
to admit he is doing a great job and is indeed inspiring. I read that he mostly
finds inspiration for his designs by looking into the past, as she did too, so
I believe that that and the fact he uses many different fabrics and materials
and is always innovating using new techniques, is what makes the brand still so
famous after all this years.
chanel Spring Summer 2002 RTW
Lagerfeld mixed a biker outfit with a shirt, pearl necklace and trainers
on this spring 2002 collection. In Vogue I could only find from this collection
until the most recent one but it was enough to see that the Tomboy chic is
still very present collection after collection, combined with punk, rock, goth,
minimalistic and many others.
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