A poor girl from the Loire Valley, Coco Chanel created a twentieth century fashion empire out of a whole lot of smarts and an innate sense of style that is being celebrated by an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in NY. Sixty-three outfits from eight decades of the House of Chanel are grouped thematically rather than chronologically (Karl Lagerfeld, the ‘new’ Coco is very anti-retrospective), making for an installation elegant in its simplicity. The illustrations in the accompanying catalogue are the work of Lagerfeld who hand-tinted the double photo transfers. Now on until August 7th.

Artist: Coco Chanel + Karl Lagerfeld
+ metmuseum.org
+ chanel.com