Elite Traveler Summer 2023

elite traveler SUMMER 2023 77

Raised in an orphanage after her mother died, Gabrielle Chanel learned to sew at an early age and vowed to create clothing that made women’s lives easier

CHANEL Little did she know in 1909, when Gabrielle Chanel began her fi rst accessories shop on Rue Cambon in Paris, that the name Chanel would become legendary — synonymous around the world with elegance and sophistication. Raised in an orphanage after her mother died, Chanel learned to sew at an early age and vowed to create clothing that made women’s lives easier. She went on to create the famed little black dress and the Chanel suit. She made fabrics like jersey and tweed incredibly desirable and luxurious. She garnered the nickname ‘Coco’ (short for coquette) at the age of 18 when she became a cabaret singer at a circus, a job that led her to meet the people who would propel her into tailoring and couture fashion. The name Coco was one that she embraced and later gave to some of her creations. One of the most legendary names of the 20th century, Chanel designed hats before clothing, and envisioned her brand as a complete couture house. Within two decades of opening that fi rst shop, she had already created fragrances and jewelry. Handbags made their debut in the mid 1950s. Inspired by Byzantine and Egyptian art, as well as Art Deco and, later, Asian art, Coco Chanel began creating jewelry as early as the 1920s, incorporating elements like the powerful lion and magni fi cent fl owersand birds. She turned to pearls and diamonds for jewelry that could transition from day to night, often by layering for a dramatic e ff ect. While Chanel died in 1971 at the age of 87, the house of Chanel continued, bringing the famed Karl Lagerfeld on as creative director. Today, with Patrice Leguéreau as the director of the Chanel Fine Jewelry Creation Studio, Chanel designs are continually reinterpreted. In fact, in 2020, Leguéreau took inspiration from Chanel tweed jackets (which Chanel fi rst created in the 1920s when she had a love a ff air with the Duke of Westminster and discovered his tweed jackets), creating the fi rst45high jewelry pieces dedicated to the woven fabric. For 2023, Leguéreau recreates tweed in an all-new necklace that is being donated to the Chanel High Jewelry Patrimoine. The biggest challenge was transforming the hard metal and jewels into a soft, supple feel. The new Tweed Couture necklace has radiant lines crafted of gold, gemstones and pearls that evoke a sense of tweed fabric. The making of the necklace involves a host of di ff erent techniques, including weaving gold and platinum into rings and joints that enable the exceptional necklace to be fl exibleand embrace the curve of the neck. Created in platinum and rose gold and set with di ff erent cuts and sizes of pink sapphires, spinels, cultured pearls and diamonds, including a 10.20-carat cushion-cut diamond in the center, the Tweed Couture necklace is a perfect tribute to Coco Chanel. chanel.com

Fromtop The Tweed Couture necklace Above right The Tweed Couture

necklace in platinum and rose gold, set with di ff erent cuts and sizes of pink sapphires, spinels, cultured pearls and diamonds, including a 10.20-carat cushion-cut diamond