Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s apartment on rue Cambon in Paris is full of them, and Karl Lagerfeld’s office was famously lined with them as well. We are talking about books—the preferred companion of Coco and Lagerfeld, who were both known to be voracious readers.
Literature shaped their worldview as well as the way they designed; it also had a profound influence on the very essence of the house. So, it’s fitting that the new Chanel artistic director, Virginie Viard, who is a bibliophile herself, decided to dedicate her first haute couture show to their shared love of books. Viard, who took the creative reins after Lagerfeld’s passing early this year, has already showed her desire to start a new chapter for the house while being respectful to the narrative that Coco and Lagerfeld had created.
A QUIET PLACE
“Books are my best friends,” Coco once mused to writer Paul Morand. Her clear affinity for tomes and the written word inspired the metamorphosis of the Grand Palais, which was transformed into a circular library that reminded me of the iconic Stockholms Stadsbibliotek (Stockholm Public Library) in Sweden.
This story is from the September 2019 edition of Singapore Tatler.
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This story is from the September 2019 edition of Singapore Tatler.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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