Paris (AFP)

Tailleur Chanel, N ° 5: "We repeat a thousand times without really knowing what we are talking about": Paris is dedicating a first retrospective to the eminently modern genius of Gabrielle Chanel, whose principles of elegance have guided women for a century.

From the 1916 jersey sailor top to the 50s-60s suit, including little black dresses from the Roaring Twenties: the exhibition "Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion manifesto" at the Palais Galliera, which opens on Thursday, pays tribute to most influential designer of the 20th century.

"We rediscovered Chanel, it was a surprise to what extent we did not know in depth her creations, the principles that guided her work", told AFP, Miren Arzalluz, director of the Galliera palace, museum of the mode de Paris, which opens its doors to the public after two years of work.

Ms. Arzalluz says she made a "radical" decision to focus only on "the work" of this controversial figure to whom are devoted "almost 100 biographies" that explore the secrets of his success and talk about the men of his life, including one. Nazi lover, and his alleged collaboration.

- "No need for men" to succeed -

Is this the reason why she has never received a tribute to the height of her talent?

"I don't think so," says Miren Arzalluz.

"Her style is so timeless and present in our lives" that we already felt like we knew her well.

Another received idea that this exhibition tries to sweep aside: Mademoiselle Chanel "discovered everything thanks to men".

"The truth is, she didn't need men to master fabrics" or catch the tune of the times.

A Russian-inspired coat dates from 1918 long before he met Grand Duke Dimitri.

The exhibition also highlights the purity of the line, the sophistication in the simplicity and the aesthetic coherence between clothes, jewelry or perfumes.

Created in 1921, N ° 5, still one of the best-selling perfumes in the world, does not refer to any specific scent, unlike the fragrances of the time.

"I want to give it an artificial perfume, like a dress, that is to say manufactured", said Gabrielle Chanel.

Jasmine, rose and ylang-ylang combine with woody and spicy notes, multiplied by aldehydes, synthetic materials.

The presentation is just as innovative: a square bottle in the white cardboard box outlined in black with the decorated vials of the time and the abstract names with flowery titles.

It is the extreme modernity that strikes in this route marked out by more than 350 pieces from the Galliera collections, the heritage of the house of Chanel or the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

- Against a current -

From her beginnings, Gabrielle Chanel was in total opposition to the fashion of her time by introducing the notion of comfort in the clothes she wears herself while her male peers dress an idealized femininity.

“Comfort, naturalness, freedom of movement, these concepts were not in haute couture before it,” emphasizes Ms. Arzalluz.

Flexible, his clothes are inspired by sportswear and borrow codes from the male dandy wardrobe.

She diverts popular materials and uses knit and tweed to create sophisticated, casual outfits.

Back in the profession in 1954, in the context marked by the New Look of Christian Dior with a silhouette exalting the old canons of femininity, Gabrielle Chanel is 71 years old and is once again positioned against the fashion of the moment.

At first his stripped-down suit was criticized for its lack of novelty before becoming an iconic piece.

- "Timeless" -

The jacket is lightweight and is more like a cardigan.

It does not mold, but emphasizes the chest, the armholes allow free movement of the arms without dragging the jacket.

The colored braids structure the silhouette while maintaining its flexibility.

The skirt tilted slightly backwards does not hug the waist and stops below the knee, nicely shaping the leg.

Little worn at present in its classic form, the Chanel skirt suit is "perfectly modernizable" thanks to its "timeless" principles, assures Véronique Belloir, curator of the exhibition at AFP.

For her, the principles of Chanel which "handles paradoxes, mixes the ordinary with chic, costume jewelry and jewelry, the masculine and the feminine", resonate in our way of dressing.

No need to put on a tweed suit with a pearl necklace.

An airy dress with chunky sneakers or a man's shirt worn in a feminine way, it comes from the spirit of Chanel, concludes the expert.

© 2020 AFP