Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Thoroughly Modern Gabrielle

A landmark exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and an upcoming Métiers d’Art show in Manchester are part of Chanel’s ‘British moment,’ president of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky tells Tim Blanks.

Horst P. Horst’s 1937 portrait of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel is among the archival images in ‘Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto’ at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. (© Photo by Horst P. Horst /Condé Nast /Getty Images)

Tim Blanks

15 September 2023

Gabrielle Chanel never married, so Bruno Pavlovsky, the impish but unflaggingly correct president of fashion at the company that bears her name, refers to her without fail as “Mademoiselle Chanel.” His observation of etiquette seems more and more incongruous the further you get into the salons of Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, a major exhibition that has just opened at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (1883-1971)

In the fourth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we meet the creator of the ‘little black dress,’ who took her cues from a country in mourning. Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, the designer doyenne who founded fashion’s most famous house, used her lovers’ money to establish herself and rewrote the rulebook with her mannish collections.

Chanel to Double Capital Investments, Bolster ‘Ultimate Luxury Experience’ as Sales Surge

The privately-held fashion and beauty giant’s sales rose 17 percent to $17 billion in 2022. Private salons for top-spending clients, emerging technologies and a new London headquarters are on new CEO Leena Nair’s agenda.