The CHANEL Iconic

A veritable CHANEL icon, instantly recognisable, the 11.12 bag bears within it both the history of the House and the avant-gardist vision of Gabrielle Chanel. In front of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin’s camera, it appears in a new campaign entitled The CHANEL Iconic in the Paris neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. On the arms of Anna Mouglalis, Rianne van Rompaey, Imaan Hammam, Louise de Chevigny and Zoé Adjani, the iconic bag of the House is in the spotlight.

A reinterpretation of the 2.55 bag imagined by Gabrielle Chanel in February 1955, the 11.12 bag acquired iconic status under the impetus of Karl Lagerfeld in the early 1980s. It differs from its predecessor by a clasp decorated with a double C and by a metal chain interlaced with leather. Every detail of its allure reflects its heritage: cleverly designed and as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside, the 11.12, like the 2.55, bears all the attributes of a bag created by a couturière. Its conception – a bag in a bag worked according to the piqué retourné (“stitch and turn”) technique and held in place with points de bride stitches – indeed evokes that of Ready-to-Wear, as do its seven functional pockets. The “diamond” quilting topstitched with the “point droit de couturière” that covers the body of the bag is inspired by the world of horses, so dear to Gabrielle Chanel, while its adjustable metal chain induces a liberating gesture for the body, just like the clothing designed by the designer.