Synopses & Reviews
When Jean Leymarieand#8217;s monograph on Coco Chanel was originally published in 1989, he was known primarily as a curator and modern art historian, both in his native France and abroad. Bringing his expertise to bear on one of the most famous (and often controversial) couturiers of all time, Leymarie legitimized fashion as fine art.
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Completely redesigned by Philippe Apeloig, Leymarieand#8217;s classic volume is back in print once more. Beginning with a brief history of fashion, Leymarie takes the reader through Chaneland#8217;s early days, when she mingled with Jean Cocteau, Igor Stravinsky, and Luchino Visconti, through the development of her brand after her death by Karl Lagerfeld. A special essay on Lagerfeldand#8217;s contribution to the Chanel legacy, written by journalist Marc Lembron, brings this new edition up to date.
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Review
"Madsen ferrets out the seeming truth of a women appartently as deft at fabricating her life as she was with aneedle and thread." --
Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Journalist Axel Madsen, the biographer of such icons as John Jacob Astor, Jacques Cousteau, and John Huston, presents the life and legend of French fashion designer Coco Chanel.
Chanel. The name alone evokes fashion and perfume, emancipation and allure. In this revealing, intimate biography, Axel Madsen brings to life Gabrielle Coco Chanel, who was born an illegitimate pauper and rose to become the reigning queen of fashion who revolutionized women's styles forever.
Madsen traces Chanel's extrordinary life, from her beginnings as an orphan, to the first small boutique she opened in 1910, using her lover's financial backing, to the founding of the House of Chanel where she altered the look of fashion entirely, inventing sportswear, the little black dress, costume jewelry, and the perfume that Marilyn Monroe said was all she wore to bed. Although loved by many men, Coco remained wed only to her business, and when she died in 1971, at the age of eighty-eight, she was wealthy, an international celebrity, and utterly alone.
Lavishly illustrated with photographs of Coco Chanel and her celebrated circle of friends and lovers, Chanel: A Woman of Her Own is the story of the magnificent woman whose legend lives on.
Synopsis
Alex Madsen brings to life Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the queen of fashion who revolutionized women's styles forever.
About the Author
Jean Leymarie (1919and#8211;2006) was a prominent art historian who devoted his life to bringing contemporary art to national museums. He was chief curator at the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris from 1968 to 1973, director of studies at the Ecole du Louvre, and director of the Villa Medicis French Academy of Art in Rome from 1977 to 1984.