Chanel & Karl Lagerfeld – Printemps-été 2003/2003 Spring Summer
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Chanel & Karl Lagerfeld – Printemps-été 2003/2003 Spring Summer
About the Item
- Creator:Chanel (Fashion House),Karl Lagerfeld (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 11.42 in (29 cm)Width: 8.47 in (21.5 cm)Depth: 0.6 in (1.5 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2003
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good, some markings to boards, and creasing to cover photograph.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU210236366533
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 1984 Lagerfeld was handed the reins at Chanel, which had been gathering dust since its founder’s heyday. From his first collection, Lagerfeld 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 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, she 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 introduced in 1955 with its gold-chain shoulder strap that freed up a woman’s hands. Chanel's 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.
- Karl Lagerfeld – A Portrait of Dorian GrayBy Karl LagerfeldLocated in London, GBFirst edition, published by Steidl, 2005 'A Portrait of Dorian Gray' is Karl Lagerfeld’s photographic interpretation of the Oscar Wilde novel, drawing influence from Wilde’s theme...Category
Early 2000s German Books
- Karl Lagerfeld, Visions and a Decision - 2007Located in London, GBPublished by Steidl 2007. Visions and a Decision is a tale of the delightfully lascivious power of the human imagination. Combining black-and-white photographs by Karl Lagerfeld wit...Category
Early 2000s Books
MaterialsPaper
- Modern Italian Architecture - Karl Lagerfeld - 1998Located in London, GBPublished by Steidl, limited first edition of 2500, Göttingen, 1998. Hardback with English text by Lagerfeld. Housed in a slipcase in a set of two. From the renowned Karl Lagerfeld...Category
1990s Books
MaterialsPaper
- Karl Lagerfeld Achelleio 1st Edition 1996Located in London, GBPublished by Steidl 1996 text French, English and German ’This is my Achilles- I dedicate this palace to him because for me he represents the Greek Spirit, I loved him Because he was...Category
1990s Books
MaterialsPaper
- La Villa Kerylos preface Karl Lagerfeld 1st Ed. 1997Located in London, GBPublished by Les Editions de L’Amateur 1997 preface by Karl Lagerfeld French text. Beautiful images of the Villa Kerylos in the South of France ...Category
1990s Books
MaterialsPaper
- Karl Lagerfeld: a Fashion Journal Anna Piaggi 1st Uk Ed. 1986Located in London, GBKarl Lagerfeld was and is one of the greatest names in fashion but less well know was his immense skill as a draughtsman and this book is devoted to the watercolour, pencil and ink d...Category
Vintage 1980s Books
MaterialsPaper
- Collectable Chanel 31 Rue Cambon Magazine 2012 Karl Lagerfeld CatalogBy Chanel, Karl LagerfeldLocated in North Hollywood, CACollectable Chanel 31 Rue Cambon Magazine 2012 Catalog. 31 RUE CAMBON CHANEL MAGAZINE BOOKLET Fall/Winter 2012. Great overall condition. The pages ar...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Books
MaterialsPaper
- Karl Lagerfeld Monster Choupette Navy Blue Zippered Leather Continental WalletBy Karl LagerfeldLocated in Philadelphia, PAFrom the Monster Choupette fashion line inspired by Karl Lagerfeld's pampered pet cat, a navy blue zippered Continental two-sided Wallet, designed in 2014. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch International Style Collectible Jewelry
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- Our Seasons: the World in Winter, Spring, Summer, and AutumnBy PhaidonLocated in New York City, NYA stunning companion to the bestselling Our World – this extraordinary book is a beautiful and accessible introduction to the world’s seasons that, after reading, transforms into a 3...Category
2010s Chinese Books
MaterialsPaper
- Les Ottomanes Printemps Haussman Paris Istanbul Exposition 1990Located in North Hollywood, CALes Ottomanes Printemps Haussman Paris Istanbul Exposition 1990. By Teresa Battesti maitre de conference. French Text. Great references for costumes and textiles of the Ottoman em...Category
20th Century Turkish Expressionist Books
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- Chanel, Brooch CCBy ChanelLocated in Beaune, FRSuperb Chanel brooch in gold plated with 94P scrolls forming a cross. Very beautiful model, of good size with in its center the famous "CC". Attached a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Collectible Jewelry
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Unavailable$2,023 - CHANEL - CC Choker NecklaceBy ChanelLocated in Beaune, FRLovely authenticité CHANEL choker necklace in gold plated in very good condition. Chain links with round CC pendant.Category
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