What To Expect From The V&A’s Blockbuster Chanel Exhibition

Gabrielle Coco Chanel’s contribution to fashion will be recognised in a landmark Chanel exhibition at the V&A in 2023. Based on Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, a retrospective of the designer’s six-decade career curated by Paris’s Palais Galliera, the London institution will put its own twist on the display catalogue, with rarely seen pieces from the V&A’s own archive.

This is the first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel and will explore how she created the house of Chanel and will show the impact her design signatures have had on the fashion industry and how women dress today.

To state the obvious, this is going to be major for Chanelophiles and anyone who has even the faintest interest in fashion history. This is the woman who reshaped what it was like to get dressed in the early 20th century through her ground-breaking silhouettes that prioritised freedom over tradition. Her Chanel 2.55 – the most famous bag by the house even to this day – was the first mainstream shoulder bag, and loaded with practical details, from a middle compartment intended for storing lipsticks to a discreet zip-lined inner made to conceal love letters. Even the chain strap was inspired by the tiny weights Chanel used to give her bouclé jackets an immaculate finish.

When will the the V&A Chanel exhibition open?

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will run from 16 September 2023 to 25 February 2024 at the V&A based in South Kensington.

How can I buy tickets for the exhibition?

You can already book your tickets for the exhibition, which are available for £24 on the V&A website. Members of the museum, however, don’t need to book tickets.

What to expect from Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto at the V&A

This will be a 10-section showcase spanning the opening of Coco’s first Parisian boutique in 1910 to the presentation of her final Chanel collection in 1971. More than 200 looks will go on display in South Kensington alongside jewellery, accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, from one of the earliest surviving Chanel designs from 1916 to costumes for the Ballet Russes’ 1924 production of Le Train Bleu and pieces worn by Hollywood legends Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich.

Individual sections of the exhibition, meanwhile, will be dedicated to Chanel No 5 and its impact; the house’s closure during the Second World War; the timeless Chanel suit, with more than 50 examples on show; and a study of the brand’s pioneering costume jewellery. Coco Chanel’s love of British culture – as evidenced by her adoption of tweed – will also be explored in depth.