Chanel reads into founder’s history with Venice retrospective

French fashion house Chanel is taking consumers inside the literary world of its founder through an upcoming Venice exhibit.

Being held from Sept. 17 to Jan. 8, 2017, “Culture Chanel: The Woman Who Reads” will look at Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s relationship to books, making a connection between volumes and the woman they helped shape. This is the seventh in a series of Culture Chanel exhibits, which allow visitors to become more acquainted with the house and its original designer.

Turning the page
Chanel’s exhibit will be housed at the Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art in Venice. It will be curated by Jean-Louis Froment, the same brain behind the other Culture Chanel exhibitions.

Bringing consumers into Ms. Chanel’s apartment in Paris by showcasing some of her objects, art and jewelry, the exhibit will focus on her bookshelves, which hosted everything from ancient Greek writers to more contemporary poetry and literature. This will look at how works by writers such as Homer, Plato and Cervantes shaped her being.

Additionally, the exhibit will tie in her relationships with authors of her day to the influences on her fashion.

Culture Chanel has stopped off at a number of global cities, including Shanghai in 2011. Often, the brand uses digital media to extend the audience for the topic internationally.

Culture Chanel in Beijing

Chanel pushed Culture Chanel, an exhibition in Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art, with a microsite dedicated to letting consumers explore, interact and learn about the brand’s history.

Culture Chanel ran Jan. 15–Mar. 14, 2011 and featured the brand’s heritage and iconic Chanel products, where visitors could engage in crafts and games and fully immerse themselves in the brand’s world (see story).

Chanel was named the most desirable luxury brand in China in a recent report.

Promise Consulting partner Philippe Jourdan partially attributes Chinese consumers’ desire for Chanel to the brand’s exhibitions staged in the country, including its multi-city Culture Chanel and Little Black Jacket expositions (see story).