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Young Coco Chanel
Peek into the closets of the French, and you’ll likely find at least one striped sailor tee or Breton wool sweater. Chances are higher, too, that the left sleeve will bear the label of Saint James, the 127-year-old independent French ready-to-wear brand whose durable goods—and timeless nautical looks—have made it a national icon spanning generations.
"Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does." Coco Chanel
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Coco Chanel would holiday in the chic seaside resort town of Deauville in Normandy, a couple of hours from Paris. There she drew inspiration from everything around here. The practicality of sailors' boating jackets, the nautical Striped Breton Tops, the color of Normandy's impressionist skies, and the dreamy way fabric whipped to life under a gust of the ocean breeze. The city spurred Chanel's dream, one unrestrained by uncomfortable corset dresses, which were typical of the era.
Her beach-inspired fashion choices helped popularize the idea of casual elegance. For instance, her use of jersey fabric -previously associated only with men's underwear- became a staple in her collections, offering comfort and style for women who wanted to feel chic yet relaxed. Chanel also championed the use of simple, streamlined silhouettes and practical garments that were ideal for seaside wear.
Additionally, Chanel's affinity for the beach is reflected in her designs for swimsuits and resort wear. Her approach to fashion was revolutionary in how she integrated the relaxed, carefree aspects of beach life into high fashion, making it accessible and stylish for women everywhere.
A little more than a decade after her death, German designer Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) took the reins at her company to continue the Chanel legacy. Karl Lagerfeld created a series of beach themed resort collections, blending Chanel's classic elegance with fresh, innovative interpretations of beach and nautical themes. The 1983 Spring/Summer collection was the first major nautical-inspired resort collection, featuring marine colors, sailor stripes, and chic, sea-inspired accessories. Other Chanel resort collections followed, all with beach-inspired elements in a modern, high-fashion context.
In 2018 the Coco Chanel Spring/Summer 2019 Beach collection was launched with everything necessary to be able to go to the beach as glamorous as possible. Karl Lagerfeld created an entire beach complete with sand, waves, and lifeguard stations at the Grand Palais in Toronto for the show -see picture below.
"Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." Coco Chanel
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Today the fashion house Chanel is held privately by the Wertheimer family and continues to thrive, believed to generate hundreds of millions in sales each year.
Let's look at some of the Chanel beach collections!
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"A woman can be overdressed but never over elegant." Coco Chanel
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The 2022 Coco Chanel beach collection celebrates art de vivre (the art of living) and the Mediterranean in all its simplicity. It features elegant yet comfortable looks, and it brings pieces made from lightweight version of tweed.
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This Coco Chanel beach collection celebrates coastal resorts, the taste for the seaside, the sun and life in the open air.
"You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life." Coco Chanel
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