21 May 2011 - 26 February 2012

Mint Museum Randolph 

"Fashion passes; style remains."

Gabrielle Coco Chanel

The Mint Museum of Art's Historic Costume & Fashionable Dress Collection includes more than fifty works by the legendary designer. A selection of the iconic tailored two-piece suits, evening wear including the quintessential little black dress and fashion accessories that include eyewear, footwear, jewelry, handbags and the perfume Chanel No. 5 will comprise the exhibit. The vintage Chanel will mainly come from the 1960's and 70's along with some rare couture from the 1920's and 1930's.

    Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) 

• Time Magazine's  25 most powerful women of the 20th century.
• Photos of the style icon from the BBC. 
• Timeless quotes from Chanel.  "In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different." 
• Coco Before Chanel , a movie about her life, was released in 2009 starring Audrey Tautou who is the current spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5. 
• 1969 television interview with Chanel in two parts (in French without subtitles). 
• Mademoiselle Chanel was known for surrounding herself in luxury, including her 31 Rue Cambon apartment in Paris which sits atop the House of Chanel. Listen to an audio tour of her famous address.
• Chanel's favorite pieces on display in her home were Chinese Coromandel Screens which she collected. A screen belonging to the Mint Museum will serve as a stunning backdrop to the Chanel collection.
• Obituary from the NY Times.  

House of Chanel 

• Official website

• Explore the design timeline of the Chanel couture house.

• Check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art Chanel Collection Database.

• Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume to bear a designer's name. Coco recognized early on the allure of perfume. She recommended its use "wherever one wants to be kissed." 

Print Resources from the Mint Museum Library

• Charles-Roux, Edmonde. Chanel: Her Life, Her World, and the Woman Behind the Legend She Herself Created.  New York : Knopf, c1975. 
• Charles-Roux, Edmonde.  Chanel and Her World.  New York :  Vendome Press, c1981.
• De La Haye, Amy. Chanel, the couturière at work. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1996.
• Leymarie, Jean. Chanel. New York : Abrams, 2010. 
• Koda, Harold.  Chanel. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art, c2005. 
• Saillard, Olivier.  Histoire Ideale de la Mode Contemoraine : les Plus Beaux Defiles de 1971 a Nos Jours.   Paris : Textuel, c2009.

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Created by Danielle Mathieson,  Volunteer for the Mint Museum Library