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Man Ray, Genica Athanasiou, 1921. Négatif gélatino-argentique sur support souple, 9 × 6 cm. Collection Centre Pompidou – Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle, Paris – Inv. n° AM 1994-393 © Man Ray 2015 Trust / Adagp, Paris, 2025 © Centre Pompidou, MNAM/CCI, NMNM

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Principality has played a discreet but essential role in the confluence of fashion, the arts and the modern age. One of the most emblematic examples of this tradition is the encounter, one century ago, of Coco Chanel, the Ballets Russes and the artistic avant-garde.

After the aftermath of the First World War, Monaco became an artistic hot spot and popular holiday and creative destination for Europe’s greatest minds. In 1911, Serge Diaghilev set up the Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo, creating a new artistic hub.

Coco Chanel and the Russian ballet: a revolutionary alliance

This is how Gabrielle Chanel, a rising figure in Parisian fashion, became involved in the Monegasque art scene. A close friend of Diaghilev and patron of his productions, she financed and personally designed the costumes for his 1924 production “Le Train Bleu”. Inspired by sport and keen to give women greater freedom of movement, she created unprecedented articles of clothing for the time: short skirts, swimwear and fine knitwear. By doing so, she introduced functional elegance into the world of the stage and helped redefine the aesthetics of modern dance.

Costume de Perlouse et costume pour un Gigolo créés par Chanel pour Le Train bleu, 1924. Laine tricotée, crêpe de chine en soie. Collection Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres – Inv. n° S.836-1980/S.837-1980 © Patrimoine de CHANEL, Paris / Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Madame d’Ora, La créatrice de mode Coco Chanel, avant 1923, Photographie gélatino-argentique, 21,8 x 16 cm. Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, © Estate of Madame d’Ora, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg.

“Les Années folles de Coco Chanel”: the exhibition

This summer 2025, the “Les Années folles de Coco Chanel” exhibition at the Nouveau Musée national de Monaco explores the abundant creative output of Gabrielle Chanel.

A selection of iconic textile creations art from this period illustrates the resolutely visionary nature of Chanel’s approach to the invention of the ‘new woman’. Bringing together more than two hundred objects, the show offers an unprecedented dialogue between thirty Chanel models and accessories and 40 works by modern artists, including Kees Van Dongen, Pablo Picasso, Marie Laurencin and Man Ray.

A Chanel boutique in Monaco from 1914

The exhibition highlights how, in 1914, Gabrielle Chanel opened her second fashion boutique after Deauville, in the Hôtel Hermitage in Monte-Carlo, already presented as an arts and sports paradise. And how the designer inspired Princess Charlotte, daughter of prince Louis II. “For the civil ceremony of her marriage to Count Pierre de Polignac, she wore a Chanel outfit. Her successive portraits show her as a modern young woman, having adopted all the codes of Chanel style”, explains curator Celia Bernasconi..

 

CHANEL – Gabrielle Chanel, Pochette de jour. Haute Couture, 1928-1929. Laine imprimée et soie, métal, 17 × 18 × 3,5 cm. Patrimoine de CHANEL, Paris – Inv. n° ACC. HC.INC.1928-1929.1 © CHANEL / Photo Nicholas Alan Cope
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