Vintage Kimono Style Chanel Silk Duster
View Similar Items
Vintage Kimono Style Chanel Silk Duster
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 35 in (88.9 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:University City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU736638552
Karl Lagerfeld
More than a mere tastemaker, Karl Lagerfeld devoted himself to the continual pursuit of chic. “My life and my job,” the designer once said, “is to forget myself.” During his five-decade career designing shoes, handbags, evening dresses and other items for Chanel, Fendi, Chloé and many others, Lagerfeld was a quintessential chameleon, ever evolving to embody the times.
An outsize, instantly recognizable personality — his ponytail powdered like an 18th-century viscount, his eyes perpetually shielded by dark glasses, wearing fistfuls of chunky silver jewels — Lagerfeld was, above all, an avatar of style.
Born in Hamburg (in 1933, ’35, or ’38 by varying accounts), Karl Lagerfeld packed his bags for Paris in 1954. His design for a coat won him the International Wool Secretariat and landed him a job with the celebrated couturier Pierre Balmain. He went on to become the designer of Jean Patou, eventually realizing that his seemingly endless ideas could fuel a career as a designer-for-hire. As such, Lagerfeld lent his vision to everyone from Loewe and Max Mara to Krizia and Charles Jourdan, nimbly moving among a diverse range of styles. It was an unprecedented way of working in the days when freelance was still a dirty word.
During the late ’60s and ’70s, he refashioned Chloé to reflect the free spirit of the day and, beginning in 1965, joined forces with the Fendi family, taking it from sleepy furrier to fashion’s haute-est stratum. Because of his track record for reviving and reimagining brands that had grown stagnant, in 1983 Lagerfeld was handed the reins at Chanel, which had been gathering dust since its founder’s heyday.
From Lagerfeld's first Chanel collection, he injected the venerable house with a frisson of modernity. He riffed on its iconography — tweed skirt suits, pearls, camellias — accenting a lexicon of Chanel-isms with tastes of the moment. Despite producing eight collections a year for Chanel, as well as four to five for Fendi, Lagerfeld never faltered in proposing new ideas each time he put pencil to paper.
Lagerfeld’s collections for Chanel, in particular, displayed his knack for synthesizing old and new, high and low. From Watteau (Spring/Summer 1985 couture) and Serge Roche (Spring/Summer 1990 ready-to-wear) to hip-hop fly girls (Fall/Winter 1991 ready-to-wear), surfers (Spring/Summer 2003 ready-to-wear) and ancient Egypt (Pre-Fall 2019), Lagerfeld used each season’s inspiration to conceive Chanel’s signatures anew.
Browse a collection of sophisticated designs by Karl Lagerfeld on 1stDibs, including handbags and evening gowns for Chanel, vintage cocktail dresses for Chloé and more.
Chanel
In the years following the opening of her modest millinery shop, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel became a pivotal designer of both fashionable casual wear and Paris haute couture as well as an icon and arbiter of 20th-century style with her bob haircut and pearls. Today vintage Chanel handbags, jackets and evening dresses are among the most sought-after clothing and accessories for fashion lovers all over the world.
The first Chanel shop was established in 1910 in Paris on rue Cambon by the young milliner Gabrielle Chanel (1883–1971), who had picked up the nickname “Coco” while working as a club singer. The boutique drew the attention of the Parisian fashion elite who popularized her wide-brimmed Chanel Modes hats. Soon she added a sportswear store in the Normandy resort town of Deauville, where Coco set the tone for her defining sense of style — traditionally masculine garments reimagined for feminine shapes, made from simple jersey fabric.
Effortless and elegant, Chanel's designs promoted comfort and grace in women’s wear that had been dominated in the previous century by complicated layers of fabric and cumbersome corsets. She followed this success with a couture house, opened in 1915 in Biarritz.
But Chanel was not born into a life of glamour. Following the death of her mother, her father left her in an orphanage where she lived until the age of 18. It was there that she learned to sew as well as appreciate the classic pairing of black and white as worn by the nuns.
In 1926, Chanel introduced her first little black dress, reclaiming a color that had once been reserved for mourning and working-class women. That same decade, she debuted her perfume, Chanel No. 5, as well as the Chanel suit with a fitted skirt, inspired by the boxy lines of men’s clothing and employing a sporty tweed.
Chanel closed her fashion operations during World War II, then returned to the industry in 1954 to design for the functional needs of modern women.
Structure and wearability endured in all of Chanel’s clothing and accessories, like the quilted leather 2.55 handbag — a 1955 update of a 1920s-era design — with its gold-chain shoulder strap that freed up a woman’s hands. Her collarless jacket reacted against the constricting styles of Christian Dior's New Look, replacing them with a design that was timeless, an instant classic. The 1957 two-tone slingback pumps had a practical heel height while offering a bold statement in the black tip of the shoes.
After Coco Chanel died in 1971, the brand underwent several changes in leadership, including fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who took over as artistic director in 1983. Over the years, the company has continued to innovate, such as expanding into ready-to-wear fashion in 1978 and, in 2002, establishing a subsidiary company — Paraffection — dedicated to preserving the heritage skills of fashion artisan workshops. The House of Chanel still operates its flagship on rue Cambon in Paris, where it all began.
Browse vintage Chanel bags, evening dresses, shoes, jewelry and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- Liliane Romi Couture Paris Black Boucle Wool Jacket c 1990sLocated in University City, MOLiliane Romi Couture Paris black boucle wool jacket The stylish designer jacket is adorned with three massive gilt metal buttons that run down the fron...Category
1990s French Blazers
$275 Sale Price21% Off - Exquisite Silver Glass Beaded Sheer Vest c 1970sLocated in University City, MOExquisite silver glass beaded sheer vest c 1970s The elegant sheer black vest is embellished with sinuous trails of silver glass bugle beads Framed with wide rows of contiguous si...Category
Late 20th Century Unknown Vests
- Mirella Cavorso Italian Black Silk Beaded Tuxedo Style Evening JacketLocated in University City, MOMirella Cavorso Italian silk black beaded tuxedo style evening jacket The elegant jacket is embellished with glass bugle beads combined with tiny seq...Category
1990s Italian Tuxedo Jackets
- Silk Glass Beaded Sequined Evening Jacket for Saks Fifth Avenue c 1980sLocated in University City, MOExquisite silk glass beaded sequined evening jacket c 1980s The elegant silk evening jacket is encrusted with a combination of contiguous glittering glass bugle beads and iridescent sequins throughout The three dimensional flowers are clusters of glass bugle beads in various colors. Framed with a row of black glass bugle beads Secures at the neckline with a single hook closure to partially reveal the garment underneath Designed b Gunit New York Saks...Category
1980s Indian Jackets
$225 Sale Price34% Off - Halston Iconic Ultra Feather Faux Suede Cropped Zippered Jacket c 1970s PetiteBy HalstonLocated in University City, MOHalston Iconic ultra - feather faux suede bomber style zippered jacket c 1970s Petite Size The stylish petite size cropped hunter green zippered jacket is constructed with Halston's ...Category
1970s Unknown Cropped Jackets
- Etro Milano Crisp Vibrant Floral Print Cotton Jacket Size 42 21st cBy EtroLocated in University City, MOEtro Milano Crisp vibrant floral print cotton jacket Size 42 Designed with a pair of flap covered pockets Lined in violet & chartreuse vertical stripes The backside cinches with an...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Jackets
- Child's Vintage 1980's Black Leather Motorcycle Jacket Size 8Located in New York, NYVintage child's black leather motorcycle jacket , size 8. Authentic details feature zip front closure, zippered sleeve cuffs and side pockets, metal snap collar and front pocket. At...Category
1980s American Jackets
- 1980's Sonia Rykiel France Evening Wear Lightweight Silk Velvet Lame DusterBy Sonya RykielLocated in Tustin, CAExquisite 1980's evening wear coat, jacket, blazer or duster is lightweight, vented and easy to wear for dining, parties and dancing, with an animal patterned, soft silk velvet and s...Category
1980s French Single-Breasted Jackets
- Sexy German Christine Vogdt 1970s Lynx Fur Stroller Length Coat US Size 8 MediumLocated in Tustin, CAWild and exotic, this vintage, spotted lynx fur coat or jacket from the 1970s, in excellent condition, makes a bold fashion statement from internationally renowned German fashion designer/artist, Christine Vogdt...Category
1970s German Jackets
$3,920 Sale Price20% Off - Rare ESKANDAR NWT Binish Jacket VIRGIN WOOL LINEN Paisley Black Size 1By EskandarLocated in Asheville, NCEskandar, 2018 Collection, Binish Jacket, Decorative Metal Buttons, Two Front Pockets, One Extra Button, Paisley Design inside Collar and at the Cuff, Made in Poland, Drop Shoulder, ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary English Jackets
- Vintage Tisse a Paris for LILLI ANN Fur Mohair MINK Swing Coat CAMEL BrownBy Lilli AnnLocated in Asheville, NCLilli Ann, Tisse a Paris, One Button Hidden Top Closure, Pink Satin Lining, Two Satin Lined Pockets, Mink Fur Collar, Heavy Weight, 3/4 Sleeve, Beautiful Coat Measurements Laying Fl...Category
Mid-20th Century Jackets
- Vintage EVR Nylon 80s Jacket Black White Zebra Leopard Print LARGELocated in Asheville, NCEVR, 80's, Division of Rousso Apparel, 100% Nylon, Zebra and Leopard Print, Zipper Front, Two Pockets, Drawstring Closure Made in Bangladesh, Size Large Measurements Laying Flat (Ha...Category
1980s Jackets
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Remembering Fashion Designer, Collector and Supreme Tastemaker Karl Lagerfeld
The creative force behind brands like Chanel, Fendi and Chloé was as exacting in his interiors as he was in his clothing designs.
From the Runway to Rihanna, These Chanel Pearl Sunglasses Are the Peak of ’90s Chic
This cheeky accessory is seriously fun.