This month one of the greatest couturiers of the 20th century has a birthday: Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel.  In honor of what would have been the designer’s 133rd birthday on August 19th, let’s look at the allure of Coco Chanel’s iconic bags.

Chanel's Iconic Bags

 

Chanel's Iconic Bags

I thought my fashion passion bucket would overflow during the summer of 2010 when my daughter and I visited Chanel’s New York flagship store on 57th Street to see The Secrets of the Chanel Handbag, an exhibit demonstrating the construction and history of the company’s iconic
2.55 handbag.

The exhibit highlighted how the most iconic shoulder bag — the Chanel 2.55 — was made. The display was on an upper level of the boutique and featured a row of seven mannequins with video screens hanging off of them.  Each video screen is encased in a black leather quilted cover with a chain strap. Alongside each mannequin was a display highlighting a step in manufacturing the Chanel 2.55 handbag.

Chanel's Iconic Bags: Original Chanel 2.55
Chanel’s Iconic Bags: Original Chanel 2.55

In February 1955, Coco Chanel launched the 2.55 quilted bag, a design still adored over 60 years later.  The 2.55 bag is the epitome of style and luxury, named after its birthday.

Mademoiselle Chanel was fed up with holding her purses with her hands and losing them, so she designed a chic double-chain strap for carrying them on her shoulder.

Coco Chanel
Chanel’s Iconic Bags: The 2010 exhibit, The Secrets of the Chanel Handbag at the New York City flagship Chanel Store.

Step One:  Cut
Step Two:  Quilting
Step Three:  Assembly
Step Four:  Shaping
Step Five:  Turning Out
Step Six:  Chain and Leather
Step Seven:  Packing

Cutting Chanel

The quilting stitch is labor-intensive. One bag is produced in 10-18 hours, and 6 to 15 people participate in the process.

The diamond quilted design was influenced by several sources: the jockey’s riding coats, the stained-glass windows of the abbey at Aubazine (the French orphanage Coco grew up in), and the cushions in Chanel’s apartment in Paris. Using the running stitch, the bag holds its shape and volume well. For added security, secret stitches at the back ensure durability.

Quilting Process for the Chanel bag. Source: wanthaveit.com
Chanel’s Iconic Bags:  Quilting Process for the Chanel bag. Source: wanthaveit.com

In the early 1980s, the brand’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, added variations on the original design, including different sizes, leather and fabric combinations, the interlocking CC logo, and the metal interwoven leather straps.  These are called the classic flap bags.  The bags are now available in leather, suede, fur, exotic skins, vinyl, and a selection of fabrics such as satin, jersey, and tweed.

Coco Chanel

The chain straps were influenced by various childhood memories, including the caretakers at the convent where she grew up who held their keys on their waists with the same chain she used on the 2.55 bags’ shoulder straps.

Chaining Chanel
In February 2005, Lagerfeld reproduced an enhanced copy of the 2.55 bag commemorating Chanel’s 50th anniversary of the 2.55 purse.  It was named the ‘Reissue 2.55’.

Chanel Medium Flap Bag

Why Has Chanel Raised Its Prices?
1.  Inflation
2.  Cost of Labor
3.  Chanel makes its bags in France and Italy.
4.  Very few luxury brands are still producing goods entirely in Europe.
5.  The cost of labor in Europe has skyrocketed
6.  Prestige pricing for a luxury brand keeps them exclusive

The 2016 Classic Flap Bag (Lambskin and gold metal) price is $4,900.00.

Karl Lagerfeld suggests this with a new interpretation of boyish charm: “Chanel used men’s underwear to make dresses; she had this boyish attitude. It is the very spirit of Chanel. She got it from Boy Capel, the great love of her life, which incidentally explains why the new bag is called the Boy Chanel.”

Chanel's Iconic Bags: The Boy Bag
Chanel’s Iconic Bags: The Boy Chanel Bag

Coco Chanel would be ecstatic to know that Karl Lagerfeld introduced the Boy Bag in 2012.  The thought is to keep the memory of the love of her life, wealthy boyfriend Arthur “Boy” Capel, alive.  Boy financed her first millinery shop, Chanel Modes, in Deauville, France, in 1912.

See Karl Lagerfeld’s film starring Keira Knightly video on Coco Chanel, A Life on Camera, from the Guardian, below:

 

Back to my disappointment in The Secrets of the Chanel Handbag exhibit, I thought of seeing interlocking Cs, caressing the caviar leather, and exploring a machine or two. But modern technology allowed us to see the seven-step process via the dangling computers from the dummies. That was it!

It would be wonderful if I could arrange a trip to the Chanel Manufacturing facility when I visit in November.

Happy Birthday, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel!

Have a fabulous week.

Siggy