Coco Chanel’s story is imbued with mysteries and things left unsaid, secrets that purportedly forged the legend of the Dame aux Camélias. The same goes for the matelassé motif. It was used for the first time during the conception of her emblematic handbag, the 2.55 – no word on its original inspiration. Once more, it’s Chanel that deserves the praise, since Gabrielle made it one of the codes for her brand, a timeless stamp on the female wardrobe. Some say that this method of quilting using stitched rhombuses came to her from the jackets of the jockeys and other such lads that she crossed paths with at the racetrack events she often attended. Others say that it was the horses’ saddle cloths that drew her attention. Perhaps she never even had to leave her own apartment, since the cushions on her sofa would have sufficed to inspire the idea. There is also a hypothesis that the rhombuses are a reference to the stained glass windows in the abbey where Gabrielle Chanel was raised. None of these ideas has been confirmed; and yet none of them are too far out. It’s definitely feasible that something left its mark on her somewhere along the line, but what? Only the Mademoiselle herself knows.
The matelassé motif made its big début within the house on the rue Cambon, but it wouldn’t content itself simply with adorning this lone piece, as emblematic as it is. No, this motif has been released in every domain in which the brand has tried its hand, and on as many pieces as possible. It can be found on leather boots and shoes, or embellishing sunglasses in a number of collections. The rhombuses are shrunk down and adorned with the most precious of metals when they’re applied to jewelry and watchmaking pieces. Even the cosmetics domain hasn’t escaped the omnipresent matelassé: eyeshadow palettes have adopted it, making for an aesthetic connecting thread that perfectly respects all of the elegance and codes of the brand. And the fashion world didn’t take long to take over the matelassé motif, just like it had several other of Chanel’s signatures. “There is no success without copying or imitation,” she once said. Once more, Chanel looks to the male wardrobes to stock the female one. She’s once more shed a light on a timeless fashion icon, an essential, the matelassé. Indeed, contemporary fashion wouldn’t have been the same without Gabrielle.
Chanel’s Matelassé Motif: Key Dates
Fall-Winter 2017-2018 Collection: The ” Chanel Ground Control ” show is on a futuristic theme, where we discover models wrapped in quilted survival blankets.
October 2017: Chanel creates the watch “Code Coco” , taking the clasp Mademoiselle and quilted the 2.55.
July 2017: For the Autumn-Winter 2017-2018 pre-collection Cara Delevingne wears a quilted XXL silver satchel on the back.
May 2017: Release of Chanel’s new ” Gabrielle ” bag during the Spring-Summer 2017 ready-to-wear fashion show, two-tone and quilted with 4 ambassadors: Cara Delevingne, Kristen Stewart, Pharell Williams and Caroline de Maigret.
Autumn-Winter 2016-2017: During the parade the models were wearing a quilted smoky eyes made by Tom Pecheux.
Glasses collection: The 2016-17 Fall-Winter glasses have for muse Willow Smith who presents us the line ” Futuristic ” in which we discover a quilting done with the laser on the glasses.
December 2016: For the show of the Craftsmanship 2017 collection, the 2.55 has a new look as it is found quilted in black stitched velvet calfskin.
July 2016: Keira Knightley becomes the jewelry muse of the house on rue Cambon to present the new ” Coco Crush ” collection which presents no less than 48 Haute Joaillerie pieces inspired by the famous quilted motif.
March 9, 2016: In the Grand Palais, Karl Lagerfeld unveils a new collection for the winter in which we find the codes of the mythical house on rue Cambon: pearls, tweed and of course quilted , this time on the coats.
Spring-Summer 2016: The theme of this parade is on the journey and Karl Lagerfeld revisits the suitcases he calls ” Coco Case “, They are adorned with quilting inspired by the codes of the house.
Spring-Summer 2016: Cara Delevingne is the face of Chanel’s new Eyewear collection, the model poses with several models including sun-shaped masks engraved with a laser quilting.
Fall-Winter 2015-2016: We find this season the quilted motif on tweed jackets, silk: the motif was honoured in this collection.
2015: Release of the ” Coco Crush ” jewelry line inspired by the 2.55 padded motif on yellow or white gold rings.
Spring-Summer 2014: This year’s ready-to-wear collection presents bags with a thicker padding than usual.
Fall-Winter 2013-2014: In this parade we find on some clothes the motive of the famous quilting of the house.
2012: The quilted takes XXL forms on the Hula Hoop Bag of the house on rue Cambon.
March 2012: Chanel releases in exclusivity and in limited edition a palette of eyeshadows ” Quilted Shadows “
January 2012: Chanel presents a special Sport collection in which we could see fishing rod cases strongly resembling the 2.55, a bike with padded effects and tennis racket pockets with the same effect.
June 2011: For the release of the limited collection of make-up ” Byzance “, the house revisits the makeup and releases 4 new shades with quilted pattern.
2010: This year is invented by Karl Lagerfeld the ” Boy Bag ” which is inspired by 2.55.
Autumn 2009: For its Venice collection, the house on rue Cambon has a make-up line in which are two delicately quilted ” Iréelle Duo ” eyeshadow .
September 2009: Lily Allen becomes the face of the new bag line of the brand ” Coco Cocoon ” a big quilted bag very casual.
February 2, 1955: The quilted is used for the first time by Gabrielle Chanel during the creation of the iconic 2.55.
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