The Latest Name In Shoes Belongs to Obi Cymatica

Obi Cymatica has been obsessed with fashion for as long as he can remember –– he spent much of his youth sketching one ensemble after another. But around his 18th birthday, it suddenly hit him: he spent far more time working out details of the footwear than the rest of the outfit, and shoes were always the most exuberant part of the finished sketch. It was at that point, as a Forest Hills high school student in Queens, that Cymatica made up his mind to become a shoe designer.

Obi Cymatica was born in Madagascar, to Nigerian parents, and spent most of his childhood in Nigeria. When he was 16, he moved with his family to New York. As a designer, he's self-taught, but extremely determined: barely out of his teens, he started his own label, established a relationship with a factory in Florence, and landed a retail account with the online designer shop, Saxa. Even now, at the slightly-less-tender age of 25, he still makes every decision about the design and manufacture of every pair of his boots and shoes. 

Cymatica's idols include Christian Louboutin, whose "attitude toward making shoes" he particularly admires, along with how Louboutin has managed to maintain the aura of an atelier-based shoemaker, while growing his business by leaps and bounds. But Cymatica's ne plus ultra is Manolo Blahnik. They met, once, and the young man found himself almost tongue-tied as he tried to express his admiration for his hero. "I said, Mr Blahnik, you don't understand –– it's because of you I'm a shoe designer. Because of you! I think he just smiled. But it's true."

As for what inspires him, Cymatica says he turns to music. "I put on music, and sit down to draw. It might be Eartha Kitt, or house music, Amy Winehouse or a movie soundtrack. I envision a woman in that musical environment, and start sketching. If it's romantic, maybe the shoes reveal a little more skin; if the music is strong, the shoes become stronger, too. I like strength. After all, shoes are armor for your feet."

Photographs by Noël Sutherland. Leg model (and muse): Faustina Rose. Produced and styled by Mark Grischke for Fashion As a 2nd Language.

Move Over Guys: Antonio Azzuolo is Talking to Her

Arthur D, of IMG Men, wearing Antonio Azzuolo Fall 2014 and eyewear by Warby Parker.

At Fashion As a 2nd Language, we've been fans of Antonio Azzuolo since 2009 (see our first story about him here). He hails from Montreal, but his career has taken him around the world, from Milan to Paris and, ultimately, New York. Along the way, he's worked for some seriously big designer brands, including Hermès, Kenzo and Ralph Lauren. He's also honed an eye for detail that's become more distinctive with each season's menswear presentation––and, for Fall 2014, he's finally taken the jump and introduced a woman's collection as well.

Part of Antonio Azzuolo's lineup in the Warby Parker shop.

The show's notes drew attention to what we've already come to expect from Azzuolo––specifically, his sharp, sartorial silhouettes, deftly infused with hints of the avant-garde. ("Savile Row meets the Lower East Side," according to the press release.) What this means, in real-world terms, is clothing that's both wearable and, perhaps, a bit too much, depending on how many pieces one opts to wear together.

Extreme texture, shown as an option for both men and women.

Azzuolo tends to keep his palette simple––black, white, grey and navy are his staples––but this season, he also wove in shots of pale pink, dark rose and deep purple. Pieces were often layered, resulting in turtlenecks tucked inside shirt collars, with sweaters, tunics and jackets adding additional fabric to "frame" the face and neck (perhaps that's why Azzuolo chose to show at the eyeglass store, Warby Parker).

Boy, girl, boy, girl––good-looking clothes, all the way down the line.

Men's boots by Antonio Azzuolo for Giuliano Fujiwara; women's sandals by Santoni.

As much as we liked the clothes, we were also impressed by the shoes. The women's sandals and pumps were by Santoni, but the men's military-style boots and handsome lace-up oxfords were part of a collection Azzuolo designed for Giuliano Fujiwara (a name we haven't heard in a while). They literally grounded even Azzuolo's most ethereal looks, and added a few more "must-haves" to our Fall 2014 wish list.

Antonio Azzuolo, center, with models for his Fall 2014 men's and women's collections.

Azzuolo brings a unique sensibility to New York Fashion Week, one that occupies a niche outside the boundaries of classic American sportswear. His clothes suggest everything from Parisian chic to Williamsburg cool, with dashes of British propriety, Japanese quirkiness and Milanese rigor sprinkled throughout. Combining sweeping gestures and careful details, Azzuolo takes us on a trip around the world. And, like any good tour guide, he leaves us wanting more.

Photographs by Noël Sutherland

A Passion For Fashion: The Art of Buying Vintage

What's the difference between ''vintage" fashion, and just a pile of old clothes? According to author Kerry Taylor, it's a matter of quality, rarity and something less tangible––enduring artistry. She should know: she's a costume specialist who started her career as an auctioneer at Sotheby's (where she still provides service as a textile consultant), and now oversees the purveyance of finely-curated vintage fashion through her namesake sales, Kerry Taylor Auctions. Appropriately enough, her latest book, Vintage Fashion and Couture: From Poiret to McQueen (Firefly), serves as a well-rounded introduction to both the passions and the practical aspects of shopping for vintage garments.

Christian Dior "Jean-Pierre Grédy" cocktail ensemble, 1952: fuchsia silk chiffon with fichu neckline over black taffeta skirt.
Photograph: Condé Nast Archive/Corbis

Paul Poiret orientalist dress of bronze lamé, c. 1922.
Photograph: Kerry Taylor Auctions

Taylor looks at both the tradition of haute couture––hand sewn, made-to-order finery produced mainly in Paris––and high-end ready-to-wear, including the work of designers like Azzedine Alaïa and Alexander McQueen. It's not an exhaustive resource (Taylor says as much herself), but it does offer page after page of entertaining and informative snippets, for both casual readers and experts alike. And while it zips rather quickly through a simplified 20th-century timeline, it at least provides lots of fun examples of distinctive garments from almost every era. This aspect alone makes the book worth owning––it invites you to sit down and enjoy a long-running fashion show, featuring some of the most remarkable clothes of the last 100 years, along with the designers who made them and, of course, the fashionable women who wore them.

Daphne Guinness at Alexander McQueen's memorial service.
Photograph by Mark Stewart/Camera Press

SWIMS: Beach-Bound, or Just Singin' In the Rain

Here at Fashion As a 2nd Language, we tend to champion items that are beautiful, rare and often handmade, but we also understand there's a time and place for practicality. Especially when we're heading to the beach–or, perhaps, forced to walk the dogs in the rain. Water is one of fashion's great levelers: it ruins fragile fabrics and fine leathers. But no one wants to wear ugly clothes or shoes, just to accommodate inclement weather. That's where the Norwegian company SWIMS comes in.

SWIMS accomplishes quite a feat: the perfect marriage of form and function in the design and manufacture of footwear, bags and outerwear. For example, the 24-Hour duffle is made of water-resistant nylon (with a waterproof zipper), but its chic straps are cut from vegetable-tanned leather. The Fabio sneaker has a nylon upper and that all-important rubber sole–but it's lined with leather and canvas (meaning it breathes). We happen to love both in bright orange, but there are plenty of options (as well as a full range of shoe styles). Remember: when it rains, it pours–and now you can be prepared.

Just In Time For Spring, A New Kind of Boat Shoe

Just when the sight of another deck shoe was about to make us scream, we received an email about a line of Spring 2013 shoes by Alejandro Ingelmo. Called "Made In Maine," this witty collection (for both men and women) crosses Ingelmo's urban sensibilities with preppy classics. The results–from boat shoes on extra-thick soles (like the Admiral, above), to chunky moccasins to neon-bright loafers–look surprisingly contemporary. And, yes, the shoes are, indeed, hand-sewn in Maine. How's that for a little Cuban-American ingenuity?

Seeing Clearly Now–the New Chic of Transparency

Transparency is far more common in fashion than it is in, say, banking (or government), so it's no surprise that recent, 90s-influenced collections include plenty of references to that era's see-through clothes and accessories. Of course, plastic garments have been around since the 1920s (even earlier, counting celluloid collars and rubberized footwear), and made memorable appearances in the 1960s (Courrèges, Mary Quant, etc). But 90s transparency was only glancingly influenced by the Space Age–instead, designers in the last decade of the 20th century were far more obsessed with reclaiming iconic fashion tropes, deconstructing them and issuing new (and decidedly ironic) versions. At times, fashion seemed caught in a revolving door of historical references (70s bell bottoms one season, 50s frocks the next). It was also a period of extremes, with star power at each end of a long continuum: Karl Lagerfeld and his high-baroque extravaganzas chez Chanel versus Jil Sander's (or Helmut Lang's) cool displays of minimalism. (Not to mention the stealthy massing of forces at a Milanese operation formerly known for manufacturing nylon bags and backpacks with inexplicable insider appeal–la Casa di Miuccia Prada.)

But that's all fashion history. What's in store for Spring 2013? We spotted this RED Valentino PVC trench coat while shopping in San Francisco, and immediately fell in love with its jaunty attitude. We feel the same about this leather-piped PVC sandal with a buckled Mary Jane strap, by Manolo Blahnik. Finally, the PVC camellia brooch, by Chanel (of course), is a recent–but not current–rendering of one of the brand's key pieces of iconography. If you can't find it in stores, check ebay. As the 90s proved, no fashion ever dies–it just gets sold at auction.

Our Lady of Immaculate Soles: The Cult of Stilettos

Just last month, we saw a fun documentary, God Save My Shoes, directed by Julie Benasra and produced by Thierry Daher. It's now available on DVD (click the film's name, above, to go to the site), and it's a worthwhile purchase for anyone who loves shoes, or is simply interested in the symbolic roles they've played throughout history. There are interviews with designers like Manolo Blahnik, Walter Steiger and, bien sûr, Christian Louboutin, whose Fall 2012 collection we recently previewed in Paris and New York (where we saw this chic glitter pump with a vinyl vamp piped with nude patent, and a black bow). The film's director also spoke to fashion historians (including Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator at the Bata Shoe Museum); sexual psychologists; and even an orthopedic surgeon. But the real stars are the various women who literally bare their soles for the camera. Personalities as different as burlesque star Dita Von Teese, pop singers Kelly Rowland and Fergie, and prima ballerina Marie-Agnès Gillot (from the Opéra de Paris) either take the viewer into their closets or sit and wax poetic about what shoes mean to them. And if you're a shoe addict yourself, you'll recognize more than a few kindred spirits.

The House of Orange: Fashion & Luxury Royalty

Sometimes, it's just about the shoes–in this case, a canvas peep-toe bootie on a stacked heel and platform, trimmed in orange leather, buckled up the back and laced up the front. Who makes it? Isn't it obvious? There ought to be a Pantone color named Hermès orange...

Brit Fashion: An Empire Built on Understatement

We'll quickly admit (at the drop of a chapeau, in fact) to loving most things French, but–surprise, surprise!–we're also closet Anglophiles. Why? Pretty peaches-and-cream complexions, witty turns-of-phrase and manners honed to kill with such kindness, you don't realize you've been stabbed until your adversary's left the room. Glorious. Then, there are all those retro-minded clothing and accessories companies dating back a hundred years or so–the Mackintoshes, Harris Tweeds and Globe-Trotters of the world–still turning out quirky-but-practical classics (now with modern twists). What would we do without them?

Another name on the list is Sunspel, a brand we've long admired for making underwear and tee shirts so old-fashioned, they look new again. This one's been around since 1860 (when Queen Victoria sat on the throne), but in recent years the company's been updating its image while remaining slightly under the sweep of Fashion's radar. But that may soon change. This summer, Sunspel is launching a collection of polo shirts and tees drawn from its archives, and we suspect lots of stylish guys (and girls) will want to own at least one. As they say, order now to avoid disappointment. And wave that Union Jack with pride.

Photograph courtesy of Sunspel

Azzedine Alaïa: Fashion's Rebel With a Cause

Fashion's faithful may all worship in different temples–but most make a pilgrimage, sooner or later, to the altar of Azzedine Alaïa. In the larger context of "designer fashion," Alaïa is an anomaly: he ignores trends, turns away retailers who rub him the wrong way and shows (and ships) collections according to his own idiosyncratic schedule. Which at least partially explains why, on Sunday, October 10–several days after most of the fashion flock had left Paris–Alaïa sent his models down his runway for the benefit of a favored few.

Women worship Azzedine Alaïa because Alaïa worships women–it's that simple. Few designers understand a woman's curves better than this nimble Tunisian, which has kept him in demand for 30 years. What did Stephanie Seymour wear to marry Peter Brant in 1995? A clingy white Alaïa gown literally sewn onto her by the designer. What did Naomi Campbell don for her recent court appearance in The Hague? A prim-yet-sexy cream Alaïa dress with a matching cardigan. And what have supermodels, socialites and other beauties been clamoring for since 1980? Alaïa, Alaïa and more Alaïa.

Sunday's show offered classics (like the slinky white column, above left), but some twists, too–namely, ballerina-like silhouettes pairing fitted tops with short, full skirts (imagine Dégas' Little Dancer as Daria and you'll have the idea). Alaïa is no stranger to full skirts, but this was a slight departure–the flare he gives to a skirt has typically sprung from the hip rather than this season's waist. It's a great look, but you've got to have the figure–and, more importantly, the legs–to carry it off. Fashion's gods are many things, but they're not forgiving.

Levi's Curve ID for Women: It's a Booty Call

No item of clothing is more basic than blue jeans, but finding a flattering pair is difficult for many women. Levi's hopes to change that with Curve ID, which FA2L recently previewed at the company's New York store on lower Broadway. Our shapely intern (let's call her E.V.) stood patiently while she was measured for her differential–the slope of her curves–and questioned about past experiences: Did waistbands tend to gap? Were jeans that fit her hips too tight elsewhere? Then she was handed two pairs and asked to give them a try.

It's nice when a woman comes out of a dressing room wearing a big smile–and E.V. positively glowed with the combination of sun-kissed skin, good hair (new cut and color) and a pair of bum-flattering, medium-dark jeans that hugged her curves and made her legs look impossibly long. She'd tried on the salesperson's first suggestion, and was so happy she didn't bother with a second opinion. Of course, new jeans require new shoes (and words like Christian Louboutin definitely entered that conversation). Men of New York, beware! E.V. is stepping out, and you guys won't know what's hit you.

Photograph courtesy of Levi's

A Phoenix From the Ashes: The House of Versace

It's been a long time since we've felt anything more than nostalgic fondness for Versace products, but Donatella & Co recently kicked everything back into high gear. This was evident on Versace runways the last few seasons, and Fall's message is even stronger thanks to Mario Testino's slightly-tacky/mostly-chic (and decidedly in-your-face) ad campaign. All the elements are there: gorgeous girls, gorgeous boys, killer styling and really good clothes (the top photograph alone makes us want to run out and buy that leather jacket). Best of all, there's not a Medusa head, Greek key or logo in sight–which, for the house that Gianni built, truly represents a brave new design stance.

The Bikini–So Much Fashion and So Little Fabric

Perhaps you've noticed: FA2L is slightly obsessed with life at the beach. The combination of sun, sea and sand takes us back to Eden, hints at the deep mysteries of life's origins, feels as nourishing as the womb and injects a straight-to-the-bloodstream rush of sensual pleasure. (Plus, despite knowing better, we're suckers for a real tan.)

We also love swimsuits, and not just because we love the beach. The best swimwear is fashion distilled, and requires much more than cosmetic design–it needs to be engineered. Beautiful ball gowns may be odes to technique, but their folds usually hide endoskeletons (either built-in, or created with foundation garments) providing substance. Only a few couturiers–such as Vionnet, Chanel, Balenciaga and Karl Lagerfeld (depending on his mood)–have celebrated the ancient idea of letting a garment find shape on the naked female body. But that's precisely what swimwear designers accomplish.

Innovative fabrics are a starting point, but then the hard work really begins. Curves must be celebrated, yet supported; a balance has to be struck between modesty and daring; and most women, even supermodels, want to highlight assets and camouflage defects (real or imagined). All to be managed with a few scraps of material small enough to squash in one hand.

Some people balk at the high prices of well-made swimsuits–like those by Eres, above, shown to advantage on extraordinary Lara Stone–but they're usually worth the investment. Of course, like anything else you wear they require care: sunlight, salt water, lotion and chlorine take their toll. To extend a suit's life, take it into the shower with you and rinse it in a steady stream of cool water. Then hang it up or spread it out on a clean towel to dry (but keep it out of the sun, and away from heaters). Welcome to summer!

Great Spring '10 Accessories Are Shirting the Issue

Women love to borrow men's clothes, especially great cotton shirts. There are two reasons, really: women associate garments with the guys who wear them, and they appreciate fine material. No argument here: at FA2L, we recognize the talismanic power of clothing, plus we're mad for traditional shirt fabrics. The names alone are exciting–chambray, madras, oxford cloth, poplin, batiste–and the glory of a well-made cotton button-down, produced by a first-class haberdasher (Charvet, perhaps, or Thom Browne's Black Fleece collection for Brooks Bros) is something beautiful to behold. Best of all, these fabrics, and shirts made from them, usually get better with time. They launder well, soften beautifully and gradually take on an owner's personality.

Women's fashion designers are obviously catching on: many Spring collections were inspired by, or made from, typical menswear fabrics (see Dries Van Noten or Céline). Two slightly more fanciful discoveries are shown above–Otis Batterbee's tattersall eye mask, with a velvet back and soft velvet straps to keep it in place (no more annoying, hair-pulling elastic bands); and Omelle's Jaewon sandal, which cleverly references a man's entire warm-weather wardrobe (including hints of a seersucker jacket, a small-brimmed hat, even old-fashioned spats). These shoes are so special, all they need is a breezy shirt (steal your boyfriend's) and some chic, tailored shorts–or, if you're not that brave, a pair of slim jeans. Slip them on and step into summer.

180g is the Parisian Way to Paint By Numbers

At the 180g boutique in Paris, in the Marais, all of the clothes and accessories on display–things like Nike sneakers, sleek leather jackets, pretty silk dresses, soft cotton sweaters and eye-catching scarves–can be hand-dyed or hand-painted any color you wish. If the concept seems reminiscent of those deeply-70s, do-it-yourself arts-and-crafts projects (remember leather punches? macrame?) fear not: this stuff isn't made by amateurs–in fact, it's really, really cool. In addition to fashion for men, women and kids, the shop also carries home furnishings (which can be customized) as well as striking original art. And whether you favor Prussian Blue, Moss Green or Bronze Shimmer, 180g has 99+ ways to color your world.

Women On the Verge of a Technical Breakthrough

When it comes to women's coats, far too many designers fail to balance form and function. Some produce things that are beautiful, but flimsy and useless; others make clothes that may very well be warm, but are also ugly and bulky. Fortunately, companies like Loro Piana understand the art of compromise. Thanks to their innovative work with leather and textiles–plus a team of thoughtful designers–half the world's population doesn't have to choose between looking like tweedy marshmallows or elegantly freezing to death.

This Eiger jacket is a good example. It's made of sleek, water-resistant leather (with suede details); lined in cashmere-wool flannel (with knit cashmere at the neck and cuffs); and boasts strategically-placed pockets of lightweight down for perfect insulation. Just as importantly, it's cut to flatter a woman's shape, with small shoulders, a trim, adjustable waist and a softly-draped skirt (the part below its waistline). Admittedly, a Loro Piana coat doesn't make as strong a fashion statement as something from, say, Balenciaga; but its jaunty silhouette would look equally smart on a tall, denim-clad 24-year-old girl dashing around Manhattan or a spry older woman running village errands (and will continue to do so for years to come). The fluffy fox collar detaches, and suggests a trapper hat as an appropriate accessory; add a bright scarf and you're ready to brave the elements. It's almost exciting enough to make one look forward to winter.

In the Nina Ricci Big Top, Theyskens Takes a Fall

Producing cutting-edge fashion, even in the best of times, is a harrowing high-wire act. Business teams at the world's great luxury houses are expert jugglers, balancing production costs, overhead expenditures and advertising fees against revenue from clothing and accessories; makeup and perfume; and a stream of potential licenses. Meanwhile, designers must have talent enough to create exciting collections, plus the instinct to gauge how great a leap adherents will take each season. Talk about a circus! It's gaudy, backbreaking and glamorous by turns, with elephant pyramids, lion tamers, feathered ponies and spangled showgirls galore. High above the center ring is the house designer, who steps out on a wire season after season, show after show––and sometimes falls right off the tightrope.

That's what happened to Olivier Theyskens at Nina Ricci in March. Theyskens is a Belgian designer who's been hailed as a fashion genius, for his own collections (of which Madonna was an early champion: in 1998, she wore his clothes to the Oscars and VH1's Fashion Awards) and for his work at Rochas and Nina Ricci. FA2L remembers discovering some of Theyskens' first pieces in Paris and marveling that gowns and jackets so shockingly new could have as much presence and audacity as vintage couture. Unfortunately, audacity can be a problem: it whips fashionistas into a frenzy, but the house doesn't make money selling only front row seats. Rumors circulated for months that Theyskens and Nina Ricci would part ways (the brass at parent company Puig apparently sat him down after the Spring '09 show for a "talking to") and the extraordinary Fall '09 collection, unveiled on March 5, left no doubt. It was a thrilling parade of razor-sharp tailoring, glittering modern materials and death-defying platform shoes, but Puig's bean counters decided these dark goddesses were striding too far ahead of the curve. By March 10, Theyskens was out.

Obviously, many of the clothes Theyskens sent down the runway in that last show never went into production. In June, Puig held a fire sale of old stock and current samples--in other words, anything that might suggest Oliver Theyskens had ever worked there. The irony is almost too much to bear--in just a few seasons, Theyskens single-handedly put Nina Ricci back on the fashion map (from which it had been missing for decades). Meanwhile, a few pieces--including the skinny grey jacket and pants in the photo above--are arriving in stores. Check them out for yourself and, if they fit your body, your life and your budget, buy them. Then step out on your own daily tightrope in style.

www.ninaricci.com

Stéphane Rolland, Couture & An American in Paris

His name is not well-known in the United States, but Stéphane Rolland is one of the few remaining couturiers showing Fall/Winter collections this week in Paris. He began his career at Balenciaga, then spent 10 years at Jean-Louis Scherrer before opening his own maison de couture in 2007. Intrepid young American photographer Patrick Armstrong was on hand to document Rolland's presentation in the Palais de la Découverte, including the sound check, the hair-and-makeup marathon, the hurry-up-and-wait that is part of every fashion show, and the final rush to congratulate and interview the designer.

Not every look that came down the runway on Monday was a success, but the collection held plenty of potential. Rolland says he's inspired by architecture, interior decoration and furniture design; occasionally, his clothes remind us of pieces by Pierre Cardin (though they're less rigid), the late Gianfranco Ferré (without that designer's grand gestures) or New York's Ralph Rucci. Rolland added spare punctuation in the form of sleek handbags and clutches. Given time (and feedback from clients) we trust he'll continue to strengthen his vocabulary, find his own voice and make even more distinctive statements.

www.stephanerolland.com
www.patrickarmstrong.com

Changing Hearts, Minds and Clothes: Coco Chanel

On April 22nd, Anne Fontaine's film Coco Avant Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou, opened in France. US audiences will see it later this year, along with Jan Kounen's Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky with Anna Mouglalis. Since Tautou and Mouglalis are essentially members of the extended Chanel family (representing fragrances No. 5 and Allure) both projects had the company's blessing, not to mention access to current designer-in-residence, Karl Lagerfeld. A third version of the story, by director Danielle Thompson, is also in production. Nearly 40 years after her death--and more than a hundred years since her birth, in 1883--Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel continues to fascinate. She was the right woman in the right place at the right time.

She probably didn't feel that way as a child of the Auvergne, in central France. Her tubercular mother died before Gabrielle was 12; her father dumped her at an orphanage, never to be seen again; and the girl struggled to earn a living and pick up some schooling while working as a seamstress, a school maid, and, briefly, as a cabaret performer. Chanel must have had great strength of will: by all accounts, the charming, if idiosyncratic, young woman who emerged from this painful childhood already showed signs of the talent, ambition and almost haughty self-confidence that would make her famous. Then she discovered men--and their clothes--and her education really began.

Chanel was pretty, but she didn't have the funds, or figure, for the Belle Epoque's heavily-corseted fashions. Menswear was a revelation, and may well have been the key that unlocked her innovative talent. To paraphrase an old peasant expression (often attributed to Picasso), Beggars borrow, but geniuses steal--and Chanel stole like a magpie from the wardrobes of successive boyfriends. First out of the gate was the horse-mad Étienne Balsan, who introduced her to the beau monde and indulged her taste for hacking jackets and jodhpurs. The polo player Arthur "Boy" Capel loaned Chanel money to start an atelier and open her first stores, in Paris and Deauville; he introduced her to bespoke tailoring; and his closet provided jersey sweaters, which she scissored from neck to hem, finished with ribbon and wore with such aplomb she sold dozens. Chanel had a "Russian period," including affairs with Igor Stravinsky and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich (who lavished her with sable coats and heavy gold chains) followed by an "English period" spent with the dashing, sports-loving Duke of Westminster. Massively rich, he enfolded Chanel in a heady lifestyle combining British practicality and worldly luxury. By the mid-twenties, she was already a celebrated couture designer with a well-honed eye, always seeking inspiration: she copied the navy blazers, brass buttons and striped tops of Westminster's yachting crew; she lifted traditional argyle and fair isle patterns from his country wardrobe; and, from the man himself, she snagged things like his polo coat, which she belted around her small frame and wore to a chilly day at the racetrack. He, in turn, gave her extravagant presents, from ropes of pearls to her own textile factory, where she pushed the staff to create the same soft, pretty tweeds she's still known for to this day.

Chanel loved men and their clothes, but she also had a distinctly feminine side. As a milliner, she'd liked ribbons and bows; she loved flowers, too, especially roses and gardenias. In 1920, she asked chemist Ernest Beaux to partner with her in a new business venture. He produced a heady, synthetic-laced floral fragrance packing the wallop of an iron fist inside a velvet glove; she packaged it in a stark, glass flacon inspired by bottles she'd seen in men's toiletry kits; and the result, No. 5, still needs no introduction some 89 years later. Perhaps Chanel could divine which symbols had the most potency: she added camellias to her repertoire after Garbo's 1936 film, Camille, helped repopularize these 19th-century favorites, and they soon outstripped roses and gardenias to become the flower most associated with her designs. Perhaps she was just true to her own tastes, and women responded. In any case, as the '30s progressed, her collections became more romantic. Evening clothes were especially pretty: there were lace dresses and boleros, clouds of tulle, and charming touches like pailletted veils and jaunty little hats. One of her last pre-war collections, shown just before France entered the fray, was inspired by Watteau's paintings and featured fitted suits with touches of lacy white froth at the neck and sleeves. Karl Lagerfeld may well have revisited this part of the archives while designing Fall 2009's ready-to-wear collection. He also dipped into those eternal tweeds, repackaged the classic shoulder bag inside a plexiglass carry-all and sent it all down the runway with nods to the past, the present and the future. The basic vocabulary, however, still belongs to that formidable woman who saw options where other people saw only clothes: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

www.chanel.com