Steidl International Photography publishes a selection of photographs of Chanel taken by Douglas Kirkland in 1962 on assignment in Paris for the American magazine Look.
Through Karl Lagerfeld’s introduction and captions to these photographs, we understand how important Chanel's image has been to the success of the century-old French couture line.
Kirkland, a Los Angeles-based photographer famous for his portrayals of Chanel and Marilyn Monroe, gives us a glimpse of the sympathetic character beneath the hard-working fashion doyenne's ever-impeccable exterior, with his elegant shots of Mademoiselle leaving her suite at the Ritz Hotel, in her apartment and studio at 31 rue Cambon and watching a runway show from the apartment's famous mirrored staircase.
The book of Kirkland's selected photographs is titled Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel/Summer 62: Photographs by Douglas Kirkland
