Midterm

I selected the fashion designer, Coco Chanel, as my topic. She is the most influential female fashion designer of the 20th century. She wasn’t exactly a feminist but her boyish ensemble, known as the Chanel suit, made history. It consists of a knee length skirt and a boxy jacket both worn with a large pearl necklace. Also, she introduced the legendary little black dress, which can be worn day or night. Coco Chanel died at the age of 88 in her room at the Ritz Hotel, but not without a lasting legacy. One of her famous quotes is as follows, “Fashion passes, style remains.” She revolutionized the fashion industry by freeing women from wearing uncomfortable corsets and frills that were popular during the Edwardian era. At that time, women were expected to dress up on every occasion and presently themselves elegantly. In response, Coco reshaped the perception of elegance and achieved liberation for all women. Her designs were marked by simplicity and elegance.

The message I want to convey in my collage is about how Coco Chanel transformed and revolutionized not only the fashion industry but also the freedoms of women. By having the Victorian dressed woman in the background it conveys the past and a dying fad. It is greyscaled to represent a duller period for women in which their clothes constricted them in more ways than one. The uncomfortable outfits they were expected to wear limited their daily activities as well as their freedom to decide for themselves. The foreground exhibits a colorized image of Coco Chanel and her legendary creations. Through these contrasting images I want to convey the message that her new style liberated women from the restricting attire and also paved the way toward a new era in fashion.