It is a crisp irony to learn that Coco Chanel, the visionary fashion designer who introduced the little black dress and the ever-chic Chanel suit, was the daughter of a laundry woman. When it came to her own attire, Chanel broke away from the expected corsets of the day and embraced menswear–sport jackets, tied, newsboy hats–which she then translated to the runway.
Westwood Gallery, NYC, premiered an exhibition curated by James Cavello of exclusive photographs by Douglas Kirkland of Coco Chanel’s public and private life in its SoHo location. The photographs were preserved in Kirkland’s vault for more than 40 years; selected images can be viewed at Westwood Gallery NYC through July 2010. The exhibition will travel to Tokyo and throughout Asia beginning in 2011.