We rarely notice them, and yet, braids, chains and buttons are important elements at Chanel. They are the absolute finishing touches to the sophistication of Chanel creations.
Chanel braids and buttons: Craft Jewelry
The story is also told in detail, and those of the house of Chanel have a lot to tell. There are the stripes first. These stripes are mainly recognized for the panache they give to the mythical little black jacket.
Surrounded by cords, they were affixed to it on the idea of Coco. And its principle remains: each stripe has a particular look. Because, as she liked to say: “In principle, I always invent, I do nothing that already exists. I dedicate myself to the unique. “
Gold, silk, or silver, the braids are always designed in accordance with the Chanel buttons. Buttons treated like precious jewelry. At Chanel the buttons have something rare and sacred, something exceptional.
When she thought of her little black jacket, Coco knew immediately what would make the difference: “No button without a buttonhole. “
These buttons, Coco very quickly entrusted to artists. Fulco di Verdura, Italian jeweler and designer of jewelry, for example. He makes buttons for Chanel, but also costume and precious jewelry. One of his first models for Chanel was the Maltese cross cuff bracelet – an icon in itself.
But the Chanel buttons remain anchored in the collective memory to be the result of the unparalleled talent of George Desrues. A Haute Couture designer since 1936, he has made a name for himself by sculpting, gilding and enameling precious buttons. These soon caught the eye of the aesthete that was Coco Chanel.
As early as 1965, following the first collection of buttons produced by George Desrues, Gabrielle Chanel made him the official supplier of her house. Her inspiration, George Desrues will find it on the side of Coco’s personal jewelry – the very same ones that had been offered to him by the Duke of Westminster . The seamstresses’ favorites are obviously those with lion heads.
In 1985, George Desrues retired and entrusted the queens of the house to Chanel. Today protected in Chanel Crafts, the know-how ensures the durability of a sophistication signed by the double C.
The Chain, Another Key Element Of Chanel Grammar
Hands in pockets and free-flowing – the Chanel style draws on the intermingling of chains more than a signature.
First there is this sentence so often heard by those who have encountered it. “I know women. Give them chains, women love chains!” Intrigued by this intermingling of links, the end of which is only an illusion, Coco Chanel very quickly understood that a chain is much more than an accessory. It is an ideal tool to ‘seal’ your seam. One of the many secrets of the Chanel jacket lies in its lining. Cut in silk, it hides a fine chain which gives versatility and an impeccable fall to the garment.
The chain served yet another Chanel icon. In 1955 – that is to say the symbolism of the 5th – during her great post-war return, Mademoiselle again imagined an object of eminently liberating desire.
The 2.55, mythical quilted bag comes with a gold chain. Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve or Romy Schneider, all of them free their hands by using the shoulder strap.
The legendary link of the house, the chain has indeed always punctuated the most beautiful Chanel creations. Much later, Karl Lagerfeld will play again with these chains.
And in terms of Chanel Haute Horlogerie and Jewelry, we often find the iconic code taken up in an even more noble way. Available in the form of jewelry, bracelets and necklaces, the chain designed by Gabrielle has also given birth to the most popular watch in the world: the First.
Around the wrist, the round and shiny interlacing bequeaths a softness that contrasts with the octagonal lines of the dial imagined in 1987. A piece as strong as it is sensual, modern and determined. A la Chanel!
