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How Coco Chanel Changed The Way We Wear Costume Jewellery

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Fashion

How Coco Chanel Changed The Way We Wear Costume Jewellery

A crash course on how one woman made wearing costume jewellery a part of our style vocabulary.

by IMRAN JALAL  /   May 24, 2020

In a way, all of us – from the fashion peacock to the intellectual dresser – have Gabrielle Chanel to thank for when it comes to how we accessorise today. For had it not been for her rule-breaking ways, wearing costume jewellery would still be considered a faux pas; they were once deemed as being only for women who couldn’t afford the real thing. Yeap, people were judgey back then.

Fast forward to 2020 and the market for bijoux – as costume jewellery is also called – is a voracious one with some designs crossing the four-figure mark. According to a report released by Reportlinker in February this year, the global market for costume jewellery is projected to grow by US$11.3 billion (S$16.0 billion) this year and reach over US$17.9 billion (S$25.3 billion) by 2025.

Portrait of Gabrielle Chanel in her costume jewellery finery. Photo: The Cecil Beaton Studio/Archive at Sotheby’s

Chanel upended the conservative approach to how and what jewellery should be worn during her time when she started pairing precious jewellery pieces with the faux stuff. It was her way of confusing others and a gave her a provocative delight in dressing up. By the 1920s, the first Chanel bijoux designs started appearing in stores, marking the time costume jewellery started becoming in vogue.

While her brand of ready-to-wear is synonymous with understated elegance, Chanel’s personal taste for jewellery could not be more different. She revelled in bijoux that were flashy and multi-faceted with designs that featured a profusion of stones, faux pearls and precious metals such as vermeil and bronze. She drew inspiration from her circle of bohemian friends and developed a taste for opulence by piling on her necklaces and sautoirs and layering her brooches and cuff bracelets – something the street style crowd of today has perfected.

“Costume jewellery isn’t made to provoke desire, just astonishment at most. It must remain an ornament and an amusement.” – Gabrielle Chanel

Chanel and Duke Fulco di Vedura – her head of jewellery design – loosely based the house’s iconic Maltese cross motif on the star of the Knights of Malta. The motif continues to be reinterpreted until today.

She famously declared: “Costume jewellery isn’t made to provoke desire, just astonishment at most. It must remain an ornament and an amusement.” Her pieces highlighted the function of the ‘costume’ in costume jewellery: bijoux were considered finishing touches for an outfit. For instance, her iconic cuff bracelets were meant to replace the cuff of a shirt, while a jewelled belt served to embellish the waist, and a cleverly placed brooch could alter the way a dress fell.

Gabrielle Chanel’s taste for opulence – by piling on her necklaces and sautoirs and layering her brooches and cuff bracelets – is something the street style crowd of today has perfected. Photos: Showbit.com

The imprints left by the various collaborators that Chanel worked with also make the maison’s costume jewellery special. The Sicilian nobleman Duke Fulco di Verdura, with whom Chanel had a close friendship with, designed the brand’s iconic Maltese cross in 1927 which continues to make its appearance each season. Then there was jewellery designer Suzanne Gripoix who Chanel first approached for reproductions of Byzantine jewellery and maintained a working relationship with for years. For Chanel, Gripoix created a special irregular glass pearl to which she gave a mother-of-pearl sheen.

But it was the maison’s ties to the goldsmith Robert Goossens, which began in 1954, that has remained as the brand’s most high-profile one and has stood the test of time. That partnership saw Chanel expanding her repertoire of costume jewellery to include baroque-leaning designs, including the iconic “nest” earrings which remain a popular item among vintage hunters. Today, Goossens is one of the more than two dozen ateliers that specialise in the various metiers d’art for the house.

Now, remind us again who said wearing costume jewellery was a faux pas?

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https://www.femalemag.com.sg/gallery/fashion/coco-chanel-costume-jewellery-history-cuff-goossens-chains/
How Coco Chanel Changed The Way We Wear Costume Jewellery
Coco Chanel at work in 1937. Her uniform of understated clothing was always completed with a profusion of stones, faux pearls and metals such as vermeil, plated metal and bronze.
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Photo Roger Schall

Coco Chanel at work in 1937. Her uniform of understated clothing was always completed with a profusion of stones, faux pearls and metals such as vermeil, plated metal and bronze.
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Photo Roger Schall

Before Jennifer Lawrence broke the Internet by wearing her necklace backwards at the Oscars in 2013, Mademoiselle Chanel was already styling her pearl necklaces in that way.
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Photo Boris Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet

In this 1939 photo, Chanel demonstrated her flair for opulence when it came to her bijoux, layering necklaces and sautoirs together.
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Photo George Hoyningen-Huene
One of Chanel's mantra when it came to wearing costume jewellery was to always mix things up by combining real gems with faux ones. Any guesses if Mademoiselle was wearing real pearls in this photograph taken in the Chanel atelier in 1962?
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Photo Douglas Kirkland

Gabrielle Chanel began collaborating with the goldsmith Robert Goossens in 1954 which marked the start of a stronger baroque and Byzantine-inspired slant in the designs.
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Photo Roger Schall

Virginie Viard continues the tropes of Chanel's costume jewellery today, punctuating designs with the double Cs, camellias, ribbons, pearls and chains interlaced with leather.
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For Spring/Summer 2020, the house's signature chains interlaced with leather get a more street edge.
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Expect fun pearl jewellery for Fall/Winter 2020, such as this cuff and bracelet which are adorned with tear drop-shaped resin baubles.
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A graphic monochromatic take on the Maltese cross for Fall/Winter 2020.
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A metal necklace with glass and strass from the Fall/Winter 2020 collection.
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The warm gold hues of the Fall/Winter 2020 pieces call to mind vintage Chanel bijoux from the '80s.
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The warm gold hues of the Fall/Winter 2020 pieces call to mind vintage Chanel bijoux from the '80s.
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This Chanel No. 5-inspired design is from this year's Metiers d'art collection and features a embossed quilting effect on the pendant.
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A statement choker from the Metiers d'art 2020 collection made from metal, glass, resin and strass.
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  • TAGS:
  • bijoux
  • coco chanel
  • costume jewellery
  • gabrielle chanel
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